I take all rights seriously in America, even the right to have an opinion that I may not agree with. I do not approve of lying, cheating, stealing, violence, etc to reach a goal.

That being said, I still find it surprising how shocked “Yes on 8″ supporters are when they encounter a negative response from a “No on 8″ supporter. We are not just voting to ban alcohol on a beach, or provide funding to a school. We are voting to take away rights from millions of people. If you are voting Yes on 8, then you most likely aren’t someone who is going to be losing their rights. You are only someone who is willing to take them. But as it has been pointed out, both sides are doing things they should not do. A friend of mine had a No on 8 sign in his car and someone spray painted “fagit” all over his car. The fact that it was completely misspelled provided a bit of comic relief, but the pain and anger is still prevalent.

If your argument is that you would lose the right to your religious beliefs if 8 does not pass, that has already been proven to be false, so there is no need to try to pull that one out of your hat again. I say to you to keep reading up on the subject.

Civil rights is not something that should be voted upon. Historically, has there ever been a time when people voted to extend rights to people that did not have them? We usually rely on all branches of government to move our country forward. Equality usually has to be awarded through the removal of unfair laws. Prop 8 will only try to add discriminatory language to a document that already states it cannot discriminate.

Aside from writing discriminatory language into our state Constitution, it seems to be a large violation of the separation of church and state. Religious organizations are driving the entire Yes on 8 campaign. Most of the money is coming from these groups, much of it out of state. Voters are making decisions based off of religious teachings, and are not clearly considering what the laws of our country grant all of us. This proposition is unnecessary. It is a waste of money to promote and to have to fight against. An estimated $70 million has already been raised by both sides. And Prop 8 is only harming the relationships of Californians by pitting them against one another, generating hate and violence, and singling out a very large group of citizens to make us feel like we are lesser than everyone else. Not all religious groups support the Prop and not all members within these religious groups support the prop. But the truth is that if it passes, religious organizations would have been successful in changing our constitution. For all of the people pushing and funding Yes on 8 that are from outside of the state, then we have also allowed people from other states to change our constitution.

It’s rare that we have to end up voting in a legitimate way on a Proposition that should not have ever even gotten onto the ballot. A proposition that does not seek to empower it’s citizens or move our society forward. A proposition that is supported by religious organizations that should be separated from the law completely, and opposed by the majority of the political spectrum, California’s largest employers, the Arts and even medical professionals.

Yes on 8 seeks to make voters vote on a visceral reaction to child innocence by saying it will hurt children, when 300 Pediatricians from across the state have come together to oppose Prop 8 and testify that what a child needs are loving parents, and all studies have shown children with same-sex parents are just as healthy as children in “traditional” families. Children benefit from the security of having legal protection for their families through the security of marriage. If you want to protect the tens of thousands of children across California alone that have same-sex parents, then voting NO on Prop 8 will keep their families strong.

I am sure that many of you have already made up your mind on how you feel about Prop 8. I just hope that you have based your decisions off of the laws of our land with respect not only to our constitution, but also to millions of your family, friends, co-workers and even those that you do not know. If you are someone on this list that does not have a personal connection with someone who is gay, ask yourself if someone you love turns out to be gay, do you want them to live in a world where they are equal to you? Or do you want them to live in a world that they have to fight to be treated with respect and dignity? One where they have to fight to be considered worthy of marriage or worthy of being a parent?

A vote of Yes on Prop 8 will help to perpetuate the negative view and hatred shown towards gay people for years and years to come. I’ve read many blog postings over the past weeks - more than I should have - and I have seen that the majority of people voting Yes on 8 are taking that position due to a belief that gay people are immoral and not deserving of civil equality. It has been really upsetting to peel back a layer of not only Californians but also the American people in general to see what lies beneath on this issue.

A vote of No on Prop 8 will help move our country towards an equality that has been spoken of since the Declaration of Independence, but we have not yet achieved. It will also send a clear message to Californians and our children that discrimination is wrong and that disliking people due to things they cannot change is wrong. And hopefully that you should not legislate current public opinion on social issues. Future generations, I have faith, will eventually achieve this goal, even if they have to strike down such a constitutional amendment. I would just like to think that our generation is the one that is up to challenge of full equality. A country of unity and free from discrimination can only be a stronger country.

It is only when one remembers that the executive and legislative branches of government are controlled by the majority that the most important aspect of the judicial branch of government comes into play; protection of the minority from the vagaries and whims of the majority. You see, the majority get to ram through any legislation or Constitutional amendment that they want. They have the power to affect each and every aspect of an individual’s life. Left unchecked, serious infringements of fundamental rights can result. The men and women of the judiciary are there to protect everyone’s rights, not just those of the [current] majority.

Realizing all of the above (and accepting it for its truth) should make the decision to vote no on Proposition 8 that much easier for California voters. It is not about your personal opinion, your neighbor’s or your pastor’s, it is about equal protection of the laws, an issue already decided by the highly qualified justices of the California Supreme Court.

This great post was written by LAURA GRANT
Read full article at:
Appeal Democrat

Leading Conservative Evangelicals Admit the Obvious: Their Support for Prop 8 Rests on Imposing their Dogmas on the Rest of Us

“While the debate over Proposition 8 has included a variety of topics – from youth education to civil rights – many conservative Christian pastors around California have made it loud and clear that marriage is above all else a moral issue. …

“This is not a political issue, it is a moral issue about which God has spoken clearly,” Warren, author of the best-selling Purpose-Driven Life, stated in the e-mail. …

Warren is joined by other California church pastors who have preached without compromise when it comes to the biblical definition marriage.”

That list includes Rev. Jim Garlow, who offered his church as the home of a simulcast rally broadcast to over 170 churches in California last week:

“We must fear God more than man – whatever it costs us,” he said.

Another prominent backer, Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association, was also crystal clear on his motivations:

“We believe in the Bible, and the Bible teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman,” he said, according to The Los Angeles Times. “That is how the human race continues.”

By DONALD LATHBURY
Read the full article at:
CA Majority Report

Please don’t let California get added to the list of states full of ignorant and intolerant people. Vote NO on Prop 8 and keep equality a fundamental part of California.

Please consider making a donation to the No on 8 campaign to help get our message out louder than the lies coming in from the opposition.

In an interview posted online Wednesday, Sarah Palin told Dr. James Dobson of “Focus on the Family” that she is confident God will do “the right thing for America” on Nov. 4.

Dobson asked the vice presidential hopeful if she is concerned about John McCain’s sagging poll numbers, but Palin stressed that she was “not discouraged at all.”

“To me, it motivates us, makes us work that much harder,” she told the influential Christian leader, whose radio show reaches tens of millions of listeners daily. “And it also strengthens my faith because I know at the end of the day putting this in God’s hands, the right thing for America will be done, at the end of the day on Nov. 4.”

Dobson praised Palin’s opposition to abortion rights, to which the governor affirmed that she is “hardcore pro-life.”

She said giving birth to her son Trig, who has Down syndrome, has given her the opportunity “to be walking the walk and not just talking the talk” in her long-standing opposition to abortion.

Dobson — who has never been warm to McCain — asked Palin if her “private conversations” with the GOP nominee had revealed a true commitment to the Republican party’s pro-life platform, which calls for a constitutional amendment banning abortions.

“I do, from the bottom of my heart,” Palin assured Dobson. “John McCain is solidly there on those solid planks in our platform that build the right agenda for America.”

She also thanked her supporters — including Dobson, who said he and his wife were asking “for God’s intervention” on election day — for their prayers of support.

“It is that intercession that is so needed,” she said. “And so greatly appreciated. And I can feel it too, Dr. Dobson. I can feel the power of prayer, and that strength that is provided through our prayer warriors across this nation. And I so appreciate it.”

The interview was taped on Monday by phone while Palin was campaigning in Colorado Springs, where “Focus on the Family” is headquartered.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/22/palin-god-will-do-the-right-thing-on-election-day/

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Dick Cheney’s office pushed for major deletions in congressional testimony on the public health consequences of climate change, fearing the presentation by a leading health official might make it harder to avoid regulating greenhouse gases, a former EPA official maintains.

Story Highlights
Six pages were cut from testimony on climate change by CDC last October
Cheney’s office deeply involved in cutting testimony, former EPA adviser says
EPA currently is examining whether carbon dioxide poses a public health risk

CNN.com

Endangered listings drop with little-noticed procedural and policy moves

With little-noticed procedural and policy moves over several years, Bush administration officials have made it substantially more difficult to designate domestic animals and plants for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Controversies have occasionally flared over Interior Department officials who regularly overruled rank-and-file agency scientists’ recommendations to list new species, but internal documents also suggest that pervasive bureaucratic obstacles were erected to limit the number of species protected under one of the nation’s best-known environmental laws.

The documents show that personnel were barred from using information in agency files that might support new listings, and that senior officials repeatedly dismissed the views of scientific advisers as President Bush’s appointees either rejected putting imperiled plants and animals on the list or sought to remove this federal protection.

…

MSNBC

WASHINGTON - House Democrats demanded documents Thursday about a multibillion-dollar overseas contracting loophole to track down how — and why — the Bush administration slipped it into plans to protect taxpayer money.

Leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee gave the administration until April 4 to turn over the documents or, aides have said, face a possible subpoena.

The controversial loophole has irked Democrats and Republicans alike. But it has the support of a trade association that lobbies on behalf of giant global government contractors, including Blackwater USA, KBR Inc., Boeing Co., CACI International Inc. and Lockheed Martin.

MSNBC

Barack Obama for President