green

This would indicate that minorities have the same rights and protection under the laws of the land, would it not?

An excellent observation. I agree. It why I find her posts so wildly irritating. They are regurgitations without supporting observations. It is as if the intervening centuries, all the history and the scientific advances, have ceased to exist for this individual. Moreover, these posts assume that we all believe in her version of her God. Many of us believe in different versions or don't believe at all.....

Before I retired I worked in a male milieu - I built aircraft - and one of the things that I learned there was that men like to look. This doesn't mean that they love their wives any less or that they want to fool around. In just the way women often hinge their fantasy lives on romance novels and chick flicks, men will hinge their fantasies upon what they see. It is a difference in our hardwiring and it is the reason why strip joints remain enduringly popular yet women never really did get into watching male strippers with the same gusto. Men like to look. It is nothing to be threatened by unless there are other aspects of his behaviour which are odious. As my mum used to say about my dad, "when he stops looking at women, he will be no use to me." My mum was one who really enjoyed her sex life. It sounds to me like the opening poster has a really good relationship with a decent guy. She has received excellent advice from the other posters. The above comments were just my two cents' worth.

* the italics, bolding, and underlining were done by MeanGreen.Oh, so they are your pearls now! Well, I always did maintain that you use your God as an excuse to be judgemental and to behave like a moral bully. Perhaps you would do well to remember that "the quality of mercy is not strained....." And by the way, do you read anything other than the Bible? There is a wealth of information out there. There has been, for instance, much research into the probable reasons for homosexuality. These reasons include genetics and the chemical conditions prevalent inside the womb during gestation. For those who believe in God, this would certainly indicate that God made homosexuals as surely as He made the rest of us. Obviously, homosexuals should have the right to all the civil rights and protections that the rest of us enjoy. A civil marriage is one of these.

As long as the government remains in the marriage business, and there continues to be that division between government and religion, same sex couples should have the same rights to a secular marriage as heterosexual couples. This is only fair and decent and this is because sexual preference, like skin colour or gender, is something over which we have no choice. It is part of our inheritance. No one should be penalised for their skin colour, sexual orientation, or gender. And as for abiding by the results of a public vote, the rights of minorities will not always be safeguarded by the interests and biases of the majority. In Canada, we have the Charter of Rights; this document guarantees the rights to equality of treatment of our minorities.

By the way, I love your posts. You sure are putting the "fun" back in fundamentalist.

Jesus was a Jew who was preaching to other Jews. He told them that his covenant, the New Covenant, did not erase the Old Covenant; this means that all those strictures, the dietary ones, the ones about not wearing clothing made of composite fibres, and the one about being stoned to death if you work on the Sabbath still all hold true. Of course, there are many other wild and crazy rules that a careful reading of this document will reveal to you. This means, Battygreen, that if you want to follow your God, and have any credibility as a God-fearin' woman, you had better follow all of His strictures, and not cherrypick! Cast off your 60-40% poly/cotton blend, prepare a ram for sacrifice, and collect your rockpile today. The modern lifestyle is going to require you to do a helluvalot of stoning. You are probably going to end up with tennis elbow.

*snickers from Green*

Making prostitution legal is to put it in the same category as alcohol and cigarettes. Though there will still be troubled women who are pimped out by gangs, there will be more set-ups like the Bunny ranches in Vegas and the Red Light district in Amsterdam. These are working conditions which will ensure the safety of the women and of their clients. Prostitution will never be legislated out of existence; it is better to acknowledge that it is a fact of life by legalising it and drawing up legislation that will deal with the pitfalls of this profession - disease and violence.

Congratulations on your success with the band, TommyO. I, too, will miss your voice around here.

I am a lot less emotional now that I am 1) post-menopausal and 2) on a good cocktail of anti-depressants. It is kind of like being a man. It is very restful living like this.

I have a friend who was prone to getting UTIs after sex. She even got one after using her brand new dildo. She is now kind of off sexual activities......

And I always thought Humble referred to a spiritual place...not an actual town!

I second that.

Thanks, Bjean. I really did mean to thank them. I am not only old, I am also blonde!!! lol

According to the media up here it was the black vote which supported prop 8. The local comment is that it is ironic and sad that one minority would not support another minority.

You all ought to change that Constitution. The anchor baby thing has got to go. Up here in Canuckistan we do grant citizenship to any and all infants born on our soil. Then we deport their parents if they are illegals. The parents have the option of taking their Canadian infants with them or finding them good homes here. The children are always welcome to return at a later date, eh.

Battygreen, who is to say that your version of God is the correct version? There are a lot of religions in this world. There are also a lot of different interpretations of the Bible amongst those who call themselves Christians. Did it ever occur to you that your interpretation of this material is erroneous? The Old Testament is a somber and violent document. There you will find approval of infanticide, abortion and genocide. I can supply you with chapter and verse, if you are interested Furthermore, you show no love for, no openess to the experiences of your fellow men and women, no acceptance of their weaknesses, personal tragedies, and foibles. You behave like a schoolyard bully in the name of your God. Do you really think that your Jesus would approve? Why don't you relax? God, if He exists and if He cares to, will do the judging.

I am very impressed by your post. You and your husband sound like fine people to work for/with and you do have reasons for concern. According to most of the reports I have been hearing, the economy is in recession or worse. This alone means that folks don't have the cash to go shopping and that will have a bad impact on businesses who in turn will lay people off. It is an awfully ugly spiral.... I do know that up here in Canada folks are heavily taxed but this is on their net earnings and those individuals who operate businesses are able to make a lot of business-related deductions. I can only imagine that you have the same system south of the border. Presumably, too, Obama is not going to want to kill the geese who are laying the golden eggs and by that I mean keeping their fellow citizens employed. Remember that neither Obama nor his wife came from money. Remember, too, that he was working with a disadvantaged neighbourhood in Chicago. Surely he must understand the valuable role that American-owned and run businesses play inside the community.

Nope, genuinely meant.

He was considered a goof by the international press.

Thanks. I have always had gay friends, both male and female. I have grown up around gay folks just my mum did. It is difficult to see a group of people denied the same rights and respect that I myself enjoy.

D'oh! Now I get it! I am not only old, I am also blonde.....

Where is the The One posting?