I woke up this morning to absolute silence. Windows were open and this soft morning air was filling the room. I moved a bit, waking my cat up who was sleeping at the foot of the bed. She just had to come snuggle with me for a bit. It's nice to be loved. But, in the case of a cat, her motives were probably more about looking for a warm place to stay for a bit.

Kent was out on the deck with his computer. I get dressed, go downstairs and brew myself a cup of coffee. I go outside just to chill out with him. No sounds except for the birds in the trees and the bumble bees that are hard at work gathering pollen from our 12 foot high rhododendrons. It doesn't take a village to pollinate rhododendrons, just a hell of a lot of bumble bees. They are gentle creatures and as I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of their wings, we coexist with each other while the sounds of their wings is distinctively G major. I love that key. But wouldn't you think smaller bees would create a higher pitched key? I know.... the world is going crazy and I'm consumed with the pitch of bee wings.

The symphony concert last night was ok, but somewhat of an odd program. Stravinsky's Firebird suite was well performed. The first half of the concert was distracting. Directly behind us, two people were constantly talking. The guy was trying to impress his female companion. He would say things like, "...see the kind of tickets I can buy? Just don't tell my boss how I got them or I would be fired. Yup... they got the tempo right." I'm thinking, "Wow, he can use big words like 'tempo'. Yeah, I'd go to bed with him for that." It was constant. And I could hear what could only be mistaken for the sounds of French kissing and fondling. I kept wondering if the real show was behind me, and I was missing out. After all, how often does one get to listen to Ives, AND see sex at the same time? I'm into life is about experiences thing. Well, this was one of those things.

Then, intermission. They left. Kent wrote a message on their chairs that read, "Please don't talk during the performance." But others were just down right peeved. They turned to me and said, "It was distracting to us, but we can't imagine what it was like for you." Another one spoke up and said, "The real show was back here! They were doing...". I said, "I know. I could hear them and felt totally left out." After intermission, they were gone. And here I thought that the since the Connecticut Opera went out of business, there would be no more drama at the theater.

Remind me never to go to Malawi. It's not that I would ever go there anyway, but it's just a reminder that much of the world is very unsafe for Americans, and even more unsafe for gay people. These two men were sentenced to 14 years of hard labor. Their crime? They dared to have a commitment ceremony for the love they have for each other, just as Kent and I will have this Fall. Scary stuff. Before going to a foreign country, I always check this out.

You ever notice that during the time of elections, all the Republicans seems to be able to offer is a good round of gay bashing? This from Iowa, the last state to allow marriage equality.

At a time where so many people are looking for work, our government has it's priorities straight, as usual. In examining how the troops feel about lifting the ban on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the policy that kicks gay troops out of the military if they are found to be homosexual, the government has contracted with Westat, a Maryland research firm, so that they can ask gay troops how they feel about the policy. But the problem is, they can still be dismissed for even acknowledging to this contractor that they are gay. It's just a big waste of tax dollars on a stupid policy. It's time to end this damn policy.

I guess that's it. Politics are not my thing anymore because you can't do anything about stupid people with stupid ideas. All you can do is make frittatas. That's for breakfast this morning. We got all ready to make it. The only problem is, Kent got all the ingredients for the frittata, except for eggs. We seem to do this more and more now. At least, we still laugh about it.

It's a beautiful day here, nice and sunny out. It's 17 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. The air is so clean. We just finished filling the bird feeders. This provides endless entertainment for our two cats.

This is what we have come to...
We woke up this morning, and got ready for breakfast. Kent called me yesterday to plan breakfast for the weekend. We usually eat at home, and weekend breakfasts have become kind of special to us because it's just the two of us here, and it's quiet time. We can relax and talk about our week and other things.

So, Kent planned to have bagels this morning, accompanied by low fat cream cheese (it's gotten so much better from a few years ago), capers, smoked salmon, fresh tomato, and red onion.

Sunday morning, we are going to make a frittata, that varies from time to time. We have this great frittata pan that never fails. Frittatas of course require eggs. While preparing the the ingredients for the bagels, Kent said, "Damn, I forgot to pick up eggs for the frittatas. I'll pick some up later today."

So here we are preparing breakfast. I get out the salmon and capers while he is busy slicing the tomato and onion. Then all the sudden he says, "Shit! I forgot to get the bagels." I followed, "What the hell is wrong with you? You forget the eggs, and now the bagels?!?!" It sounds awful in writing, but it was said with a smile on my face, and a great deal of love. We sound like an old married couple. You should hear us in the grocery store.

So as I write this, breakfast is on hold, and I'm waiting for him to get home with the required ingredients for these two wonderful breakfasts.

Growing older makes for more interesting events. I can't wait for the day that we look down and ask, "What the hell is that for?" It's like going back to being a baby boy again.

I guess nothing lasts forever. It's sad that so much publicity is around this issue. Perhaps it was the public eye on this couple, that let to the court ruling in Massachusetts, that led to this separation.

The gay couple whose court battle led to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts has filed for divorce. [...]

"I wish I could talk them into staying together, but I don't see how," Hillary's mother, Ann Kiernan Smith, told the Boston Herald. Smith did not offer a reason for the couple's divorce.

"They went through an heroic battle on behalf of all of us in the state, and as a result of their willingness to participate in it, their relationship suffered in significant ways, but we all benefited at the end of the day," said Arline Isaacson, of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus.

Family lawyer Ed Dombroski said the divorce is more symbolic than legally significant.

"Opponents of gay marriage are going to use this as the example, as proof positive, as to why marriage should not be allowed between gay couples," he said. (source)

Now this is what gets me. That this lawyer, Ed Dombroski, is saying that opponents of marriage equality are going to look at this case as "proof positive" on why gay couples should not be allowed to marry. Is this man stupid? If that's the case, let me start with straight couples throughout the United States and use that same argument on them.

The fact of the matter is, we never said that there would be no divorce for gay couples. Heck, I know some who have divorced. People are human. Life changes with time. We are ALL the same in that regard. Sometimes people grow closer, and sometimes the opposite happens. I'm just surprised that someone who made it through law school would make such a dumb statement.

And then there is this...

"The denial of federal benefits to same-sex spouses cannot be justified simply by a distaste for or disapproval of same-sex marriage or a desire to deprive same-sex spouses of benefits available to other spouses in order to discourage them from exercising a legal right afforded them by a state," Reinhardt wrote in an order to the U.S. Courts administration to submit Levenson's benefits election form.

The Defense of Marriage Act was passed by the Republican-controlled Congress 13 years ago and signed into law by President Clinton. It prohibits the federal government from recognizing gay unions as legal marriages. In combination with another federal statute, the act denies benefits -- accorded to heterosexual couples -- to gay spouses of federal employees. [...]

But legal analysts see the judges' orders as an indication that the Defense of Marriage Act is unlikely to stand up to the constitutionality test if it reaches a federal court. They also predict that the decisions will put pressure on the Obama administration to repeal the act as an unjust denial of rights to gay citizens.

For the first time in a long time, I feel optimistic that equality will win the day for us, sooner than later. I have high hopes that Obama will put the Defense of Marriage Act in the dumpster where it belongs. Nationally, I know I won't see equality happen in my lifetime, but that's not the important issue. The issue is that the force to achieve equality marches on.

Life has been going well. We have been so busy with work that we hardly see each other lately, except at dinner. I just wish it would warm up a bit. We got more snow this week and it was 4 degrees when I left for work this morning. It's supposed to be nicer on Saturday so perhaps that will be a hiking/photography day for me. Kent will be on his way to more meetings in Washington, D.C. until Wednesday. So this weekend, it's just me.

Kent sent me a very interesting article this morning from Slate, on torture. A must read!

But even these three consequences do not in themselves bring a turning point. Whatever her reasons for speaking now--the fact that she chose to do so with a journalist whose name resonates around the globe and is indelibly associated with presidential criminality--itself changes the terms of the debate. Whether torture occurred and who was responsible will no longer be issues behind which senior members of the administration and their lawyers and policymakers can hide. The only real issue now is: What happens next?

The answer to that question takes you to a very different place when the act is torture, as Crawford says it is. Under the 1984 Torture Convention, its 146 state parties (including the United States) are under an obligation to "ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law." These states must take any person alleged to have committed torture (or been complicit or participated in an act of torture) who is present in their territories into custody. The convention allows no exceptions, as Sen. Pinochet discovered in 1998. The state party to the Torture Convention must then submit the case to its competent authorities for prosecution or extradition for prosecution in another country.

The former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and general counsel for the Department of the Army has spoken. Her clear words have been picked up around the world. And that takes the prospects of accountability and criminal investigation onto another level. For the Obama administration, the door to the do-nothing option is now closed. That is why today may come to be seen as the turning point.

So, I say that we round up President George W. Bush, Condi Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, and I'm sure quite a few military personnel who took place in these activities or had knowledge of these activities, and put them on trial for war crimes.

The jury is still out on what Obama will do, if anything. He's talked about turning the page and "moving forward" and not dwelling on the past. With all due respect to Obama, our current President tore the hell out of the U.S. Constitution, not to mention ignoring the Geneva Convention. Does this mean nothing? How on earth can President Elect Obama ignore this?

We can't move forward until we deal with what was done in the past. If we do, then our Constitution and the principles that we say we stand for, mean nothing. If that be the case, we are no better than Hamas.

I heard this on the radio on my way into work this morning, and Kent forwarded me a link as well. It's an article warning of the dangers of cancer from the use of cell phones. Most of us use cell phones. I can't live without mine, but I'm not using it a lot. I figure next to the other dangers in life, like simply driving to work in the morning, cell phone usage is way down on the list of dangers.

Still, I do worry about some people. I know people who seem to live their lives on cell phones. When I visit the UCONN campus, students all over the place have a cell phone up to their ear. Many others have the phone up to their ear a lot. I also know people who go around the office all day long with a blue tooth ear set hooked to their ear. All day long, even when they don't have a call, or are in their car! I stopped using a blue tooth ear set because my new car simply has it all built in (I wonder what that's doing to me on my way to work?), so when I get a call, my car rings. I pick up the call with a button on my steering wheel, and the radio stops, and it puts the call through my car speakers.

But still, for those who wear a blue tooth ear set all day long, what does that do to you? It's pulsing every few seconds to stay online waiting for a call. And every time it pulses, what does that do to their brain?

Just something to think about. Personally, I view the cell phone as a great invention, kind of like the light bulb. I never go anywhere without it, but a lot of that is knowing that if I'm in an accident, or fall while out hiking, help is only a phone call away. But I use it with moderation, like every thing in life. I love martinis, but I don't have one every night and I don't use them to deal with stress in my life. I love chocolate and deserts, but I don't gorge myself on them. Once in a great while, maybe once every 2-3 months, I'll have a dessert and a cappuccino after a nice dinner.

And sometimes when I'm making a nice dinner for guests, I will use real butter in a sauce (some sauces will not work without it). If I'm making a Hollandaise or a Bearnaise sauce, they have butter and egg yolks for the consistency. How often do I make those? Maybe twice a year. How often to I eat steak? Maybe once a month.

The message here is, everything in moderation. Know what the risk is, and act accordingly.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cellphone use because of the possible risk of cancer.

The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don't find a link between cancer and cellphone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. [...]

Adults should keep the phone away from the head and use the speaker phone or a wireless headset, he says. He even warns against using cellphones in public places like a bus because it exposes others to the phone's electromagnetic fields. (source)

We all get it. SPAM seems to be invading all of our INBOX's these days. Even with the best spam blocker out there, some will get through. I usually just delete them out. It's like a ritual of reading email anymore. You go into read your email, and as you are reading through, you will come upon a spam message, and almost like a reflex, just delete it without thinking. It would seem that spam has replaced those pesky phone calls from salesmen in the evenings.

But today, I read this one that came into my Inbox.

Hi Bill

I hope you don't mind the direct contact.

i have a question which always becomes nightmare for me
is it true that one day i will not be alive?

if it's true then why we are crazy to collect those things which will not go
with us

Please suggest me or will you forward this note along, or suggest to me who the
best person is to know this?

Thank you so much!

Rick Lombart

It even gave his mailing address. Which tells me that this man is crazy, or someone is playing a nasty trick on him. At any rate, the message gave me brief pause.

To answer Rick's question, yes, someday it is true that you will not be alive, although many people think that you have multiple lives. I, for example, clearly remember being Cleopatra. So I'm probably the last person you want to pose this question to.

Having said that, Rick's point about collecting things is a bit odd. Why do we do it? Why do I collect photos that I take almost on a daily basis, when they will probably be of little use in say, 30 years?

I think the answer is, it's not about longevity. It's about passion, and what brings pleasure to life. If you are always wondering why you collect things given that you won't be around forever, I think you are kind of missing the point.

Do things now, simply because you enjoy it.

This morning at breakfast, I read two letters to the editor in the Hartford Courant. They concerned a satirical article published in the CCSU campus newspaper, The Reporter, by writer John Petroski, who published a satirical piece called “Rape Only Hurts If You Fight It.” The full article can be read below.

After the piece was published, on February 8, this came out:

The editors of The Recorder, in another statement released Thursday, said they regretted the harm the article caused, adding they would not have published it if they had realized how people would react to it. Yet at the same time, the statement defended Petroski as a gifted satirist whose intended message “fell on deaf ears.”

The statement said television news coverage of the controversy has been one-sided.

“John has been grossly misrepresented,” the statement said. (source)

Later, facing increased criticism for the article, Mr. Petroski, a 23-year-old sophomore history major, was fired from his position as the newspaper’s opinion editor. He finally apologized.

“When I hear about girls crying or feeling suicidal over something I wrote, it doesn’t make me feel so good,” Petroski told the gathering of more than 100 students and faculty who had turned out to discuss the issue. “I’m concerned about you, and I want you to hang in there.”

Petroski then addressed the victims of sexual assault who had been most damaged by the article, which appeared in last Wednesday’s edition of the student newspaper The Recorder under the headline “Rape Only Hurts If You Fight It.”

“I apologize sincerely,” he said to the group of women who, in the days since the article was published, had publicly identified themselves as rape victims in a show of protest against the article and the paper.

One student, Nicki LaPorte, had won a rousing ovation from the audience after tearfully condemning the article earlier during the forum.

“I am not a victim of rape, I am a survivor of rape,” LaPorte said. (source)

The paper’s editor, Mark Rowan, also stated...

“It’s definitely going to make me more sensitive to this issue,” said Rowan, a 21-year-old senior who hopes to pursue a career in journalism after he graduates. “Up until now, I had always seen the world from the narrow vantage point of a 21-year-old white male, but now I see that it needs to be broadened.” (source)

This all prompted me to send the following letter to the editor of the Hartford Courant.

This morning, I read two Letters to the Editor in regards to the “rape controversy” surrounding the satirical piece on rape composed by John Petroski, the opinion editor of The Recorder, the paper at CCSU.

In the first letter, “Nothing Funny About Rape”, Evelyn Berg rehashes some of the article’s main points, where Mr. Petroski tries to enlighten us to the “benefits” that rape has given to society; that it can be a “magical experience”; that it is a blessing to “ugly women” because, “If it weren’t for rape, how would they ever know the joy of intercourse with a man who isn’t drunk?”

Evelyn’s letter is followed by a letter entitled “Overreaction To Satire”, by Kenneth Dimaggio, Assistant Professor of Humanities at Capital Comm. College in Hartford. In his letter, Professor Dimaggio calls us the “illiterate mediocre masses”, who have overreacted to the article and states that we, being mediocre and all, simply cannot, or do not, understand satire. He then goes on to say that Mr. Petroski could possibly have done a better job, and ends up turning his little letter into a critique on satirical writing technique.

What is missing in all of this is something so simple that it apparently has eluded both Mr. Petroski and Professor DiMaggio. Rape is not a crime of passion, that will show “ugly women” the “joy of intercourse”. Rape is a vicious crime of hate and power. Nothing more. It has absolutely nothing to do with sexual desire, and it should be seen as such. As an educated man, I appreciate satire, but this crossed the line.

If Mr. Petroski and Professor DiMaggio feel differently, I would be interested to hear their opinions after both of them have been raped. My bet is they would tell a much different story from their experience and would both agree that perhaps, from a literary point of view, that “joy” was really a poor choice to describe the experience, and that it wasn’t so “magical” after all.

As for Mr. Petroski, The Reporter, and CCSU, they still don’t get it. Action should result in the firing of Mr. Petroski, and CCSU should be held to a higher standard, because this isn’t education. And, if I were a victim of rape, and found this article forcing me to relive horrible memories of the “joy” of rape, I’d most be likely be filing a lawsuit for compensation against my added suffering.

Maybe then, they would see the point? Probably not. But what do I know? I’m just part of the “illiterate mediocre masses”.

Bill Cannon
Coventry

Two points:
1) Satire is extremely difficult. It takes a gifted writer to pull it off. As one observed,

Professor Russell Brown, supervisor of studies for English at University of Toronto Scarborough, remarked that Petroski’s article made it difficult to determine intent until the final paragraph, while many students would have stopped reading earlier in disgust or confusion over poor arguments and offensive remarks.

“Simply, it’s poorly done. With good satire like Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal, there is at least an underlying feeling of being impossible in seriousness, and here there was none of that ’till far too late.” (source)

2) Do we have free speech in this country? Yes, we do. Can you write articles that will, intentionally or unintentionally emotionally harm others, or incite violence against certain groups? Yes, you can. But, that doesn’t mean that there will be no consequences to doing that. I think that John Petroski has learned that in a very hard way. Let us hope that his apology wasn’t just done for show, and that he truly grows from this experience.

Click below to read the original piece published by Mr. Petroski, which has since been pulled from The Reporter.

Public Officials and Civil Rights
The mayors of both Millville and Vineland said Monday they will no longer perform marriages of any kind in an effort to avoid the marriage of gay and lesbian couples. [...]

The mayors said their decision stems from religious beliefs.

“our refusal to perform these ceremonies is based on each of our individual beliefs, i.e., that marriage is intended to be a union between a man and a woman. At the same time, we recognize alternative lifestyles in our communities, we value the many contributions of those citizens to the community and we give every respect to their civil rights and privileges the same as for all citizens,” according to the mayors’ statement. (source)

I have mixed feelings on this. I can understand that the mayors have decided not to perform the civil unions for gay couples (recently allowed in New Jersey) because of their religious convictions. To get around civil rights violations, they have opted to perform no marriages for straight couples or civil unions for gay couples. However, they are public officials, and as public officials, shouldn’t they be required to discharge the duties of their office without religious bias? And, doesn’t this open up the possibility that all public officials could also decide to not to perform marriages or civil unions?

That would effectively kill civil unions in New Jersey. For those heterosexual couples who wanted to get married, they could still go to a church to get married.

So now, we have some mayors who have decided not to perform marriages or civil unions. And, the article states that, “The law empowers any number of public officials to perform these ceremonies and in fact, several officials have already gone on record with their willingness to do so.” That’s fine, but does that mean that gay couples now have to shop around the state to see what public servant will perform their civil union?

Doesn’t sound like equal treatment to me.

Grey’s Anatomy star to meet with “gay activists”
“Grey’s Anatomy” star Isaiah Washington, under fire for using a gay slur about a co-star, met Monday with gay rights activists who said he agreed to help educate the public about the cruelty of such language.

“He seemed very sincere in his interest in working with us in an ongoing basis,” Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. “We emphasized that this is not a one-shot deal, but an ongoing thing. He was very open to doing this.” (source)

Another Hollywood publicity stunt. What a waste of time. It’s working. This is all over the TV and the Internet. So dumb.

Other reads....
Bush will talk about our health care crisis in the State of the Union address tomorrow night. Or is that tonight? I forget (I won’t be watching as it conflicts with my As The World Turns episode time slot). He will talk only briefly I’m told about the war in Iraq. Isn’t that kind of like mopping your floors while the house is burning down around you?

Selenium Supplements Add Punch to HIV Fight
HIV patients now have a surprising and simple way to help keep their infection under control: daily doses of a mineral called selenium.

Daily selenium supplements seem to “tame” the HIV virus and strengthen the immune system, according to research published in today’s issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. [...]

Antioxidant Powers May Give Selenium Strength Against HIV. Scientists aren’t sure how selenium works to tame the virus. One theory is that selenium’s antioxidant powers enable it to repair damage to the immune system. A stronger immune system is better able to fight off viruses like HIV. (source)

I thought this was interesting. I’ve always heard that people should take Selenium for a variety of reasons. I think the problem is that Selenium can be deadly (so Kent tells me) in high doses, and many of the people pushing this don’t necessarily tell people that too much of it can be a bad thing (as in, death). Also, there are many foods that are extremely high in antioxidant, such as blueberries. Perhaps the best source of nutrients comes from everyday food, without popping pills.

Of course, HIV is a different monster all together, and if Selenium will boost the effects of medications, I would go for it, with your doctor’s approval.

Federal marriage ban is shelved
A proposed federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage nationwide has been shelved in light of the congressional takeover by the Democratic Party, Colorado’s Pueblo Chieftain newspaper reported.

The proposal’s sponsors, Sen. Wayne Allard and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, both Colorado Republicans, said last week they have no plans to reintroduce their anti-gay legislation in the new Congress.

“At this time, I haven’t discussed it with anyone,” Allard told the newspaper Thursday. “If we thought there was a decent chance to bring it to the floor for debate, I would, but with the new Congress, I’m not sure we will ever have that opportunity.” (source)

I am getting a lot of satisfaction from this one. Musgrave, with all due respect, you may now go crawl back under that rock you came out from under. And take your hateful, mean-spirited soul with you.

And I’ll leave you with these thoughts. Yes, I did watch the State of the Union Address.

“As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want.” - Former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Thursday, December 9, 2004

“This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in.” - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 23, 2007

On the Passing of President Ford
“I want you to know how much I appreciated your selfless actions last Monday. The events were a shock to us all, but you acted quickly and without fear for your own safety. By doing so, you helped to avert danger to me and to others in the crowd. You have my heartfelt appreciation.” - President Gerald Ford in a letter of appreciation to Oliver Sipple

It’s a little known bit of history that I had also forgotten about. Ford survived two assassination attempts. The first one came from a follower of convicted killer Charles Manson. The second one from a woman named Sara Jane Moore in San Francisco. That attempt possibly failed because of Oliver Sipple, who grabbed the woman and failed the attempt. Ford congratulated Sipple with the letter above.

With the media attention that followed, it became known that Sipple, a former U.S. Marine who was wounded twice while serving in Vietnam, was openly gay, or so openly gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk thought when he told a reporter that Sipple was gay. Sipple had worked on Milk’s campaign.

Many people knew about Sipple being gay, except for his family. His mother disowned him. After a failed attempt to sue seven papers for damages and mental distress, he began drinking heavily. He was found dead in his apartment on February 2, 1989.

Source

Hate Crime in Arizona
SCOTTSDALE - Paradise Valley Town Councilman Brian Cooney is offering a $10,000 cash reward to urge witnesses to come forward with information about a recent gay assault outside of a Scottsdale restaurant, he said Wednesday.

Detectives continue to search for as many as seven men suspected in the Sunday beating of Jean Rolland, 28, and Andrew Frost, 19, as more people voiced their support for the victims of the hate crime.

The couple were leaving dinner at Frasher’s Steakhouse near McDowell and Scottsdale roads when they were assaulted by a group of men shouting an anti-gay slur, police said. (source)

Additional source

It’s a sad state of affairs. Hate crimes happen to gay citizens in this country every single day, and 98% of them are never reported because the victims of these crimes fear the police will do nothing.

The same thing happened to Kent and myself a few years ago. We went to a local restaurant called Papa Ginos. As we were having dinner, there were a couple of guys across the room from us. I thought they were probably talking about us, but I didn’t know for sure. One would say something, and they would both laugh loudly. Then, they got up to leave. As they passed by the isle that passed next to us, one of them stopped, looked at us, and said, “Fucking faggots.” Then he just starred at us, wondering if we would do anything. We just kept talking among ourselves, completely ignoring them. I mean, completely, as though they were never there.

Why? Because it’s hard to start a fight if you give them nothing to work with. They left. All the while, the restaurant owner heard and witnessed the whole thing. You know what he did? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

So in this story, where there were so many “witnesses” that watched these men get beaten, where are they now? The police could use the information and a description of at least one of the suspects, but no one will come forward. That makes them an accomplice to the crime. And at the very least, they tacitly approved of what happened by their inaction.

It was the same thing with our incident. The owner of the restaurant should have intervened, or called the cops, but he didn’t. And if this had happened in the parking lot on the way to our car, who knows what would have happened. People think these things are isolated. For me, I’m always on the alert for someone to try something like this.

N.J. governor signs civil unions law
“I believe very fundamentally in equal protection under the law and this legislation is about meeting that basic responsibility and honoring the commitments that individuals have made to each other,” said Corzine, a Democrat. (source)

“Equal protection under the law.” Right.

The New Jersey Civil Union law will give “gay couples all the rights and responsibilities - but not the title - of marriage.”

This is the equality that the New Jersey civil union bill will offer:

If Partner A adds Partner B to a home owner’s policy, you can do that with the NJ civil union law. But, if Partner A dies, Partner B can not keep the policy. A married “spouse” can keep the policy.

You will not be married in the eyes of federal law because of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Therefore, you will not be eligible for Social Security survivor benefits, sheltered from estate taxes upon the death of your partner, or any of the other federal benefits.

A gay couple who gets a NJ civil union will be able to file a joint state tax return, however, to do so, they will still need to fill out the joint federal forms and send them to New Jersey along with their state tax return. They would still have to file separate tax returns with the federal government.

The civil unions bill requires companies that offer health insurance to spouses of their employees also offer it to civil union partners of workers. But for the civil union partner - unlike a spouse - those benefits would have to be reported as income to the IRS and would be subject to taxes.

Surviving partners may not be able to collect deceased partners’ pensions, which fall under federal regulation.

Under federal law, alimony is not taxed. But support paid from one partner to another when civil unions are dissolved would likely be subject to federal gift taxes.

Additional source information

Well, the list goes on and on. I think it’s also very telling that David S. Buckel, a Lambda Legal lawyer, stated that gay couples are planning their vacations in states like Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, and Vermont, in hopes that if something should happen while on vacation, they would have more protections.

This is the United States of America, not some third world country. You would honestly think we could do a bit better than this. I’m disgusted.