California

Last post, I mentioned my feelings of optimism about sexual rights in the aftermath of the election. Except for one area: gay rights.

There were huge setbacks in the area of gay rights in Florida, Arkansas, Arizona – and especially in California. As a heterosexual, married man, I don’t see how my relationship is in any way diminished by the right of same-sex couples to enter the same institution. If anything, the institution of marriage will be strengthened by being inclusive of all people seeking affirmation of their relationships – regardless of sexual orientation.

I’ve said more about this in my lecture, and with greater clarity than I can express at the moment. The Proposition 8 outcome sickens me, especially since the Mormon church poured millions upon millions of dollars, mostly from outside the state, into California to fund this act of hate and inequality.

So let’s turn to someone who I admire so much for his eloquent compassion and passion about a wide variety of political issues. If you’ve not watched Coundown with Keith Olbermann…well, you should. And if you’re not familiar with Proposition 8, here’s Keith’s special comment about it – and the broader issue of gay marriage.

Talking Turkey

Since my blog was down during the election, I’ve sort of missed the moment. With the exception of one area of setbacks which I’ll discuss at a later date, the national outcome was undoubtedly positive for sexual and reproductive rights in the U.S. and abroad. I haven’t felt this sense of optimism in ages; that said, there’s a lot of damage to be undone.

A different outcome would have resulted in a lot of damage. But I don’t want to dwell on what might have been. This video, I think, suffices.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

The J-Spot in conservative country

In my previous post, I mentioned that it would take time to get the blog fully up-and-running. I’m realizing it will be a slow process, especially since I’m preparing for some international travel, so thanks for your patience.

Meanwhile, I felt like I spent most of my semester in the eastern time zone, and beyond. Aside from one night in Idaho, my travels took me to West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Florida, Maryland, and Kentucky. Actually, one of my lectures in Kentucky had me cross over into the central time zone, as I did an October event at Western Kentucky University. While I might lack the technological savvy to handle my blog maintenance myself, I’m marveling over my new discovery of Google Alerts, which this morning notified me of an interesting article about the WKU lecture.

Yes We Can…

…get back to blogging – together!

I’d like to make some sort of joke about my blogging impotence since late August, but the situation has been far from funny. For reasons beyond my technological know-how (and that of my web designer and ISP), I’ve been locked out of my own blog. This after losing a few posts in the process. I’ve had so much to say about some little issues…like the election!

(Far too) Long story short, a new designer has come to the rescue and has spent lots of time converting my blog to Wordpress. There are still some kinks to work out. Then I need to do a little formatting and also decide whether I can retrieve the missing posts, or instead just move on.

The good news, though, is that the blog will now be interactive, meaning readers will have a chance to leave comments. Thanks for your patience with this problem. I’m working on getting everything up-and-running.