Marriage Equality

Today, the Supreme Court heard cases for whether or not to same-sex couples will be allowed to marry. What does that mean? It means today, the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the Unites Stated) will be deciding the constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage (popularly known as "Prop 8"), as well as hearing the case for the legality of the Defense of Marriage Act. This is a huge step for our country, where historic decisions will undoubtedly be made.

There most likely won't be a decision until June and there are a variety of outcomes that could be reached. According to the NYTimes:

The court may say the Constitution requires all states to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. At the other extreme, the court may say the Constitution is silent on the question, leaving states free to allow or reject same-sex marriage. (There is no possibility that the court would ban same-sex marriage in places that choose to permit it.)

There are also intermediate possibilities. The court could adopt a rationale that would apply only to California along the lines of the one endorsed by the Ninth Circuit. It could adopt the "eight-state solution" suggested by the Obama administration. Or it could dismiss the case for want of standing, which would probably effectively allow same-sex marriages in California, the nation's most populous state.

I hope the SCOTUS makes the right decision - which is, by the way, make it clear once and for all that it's unconstitutional to ban same-sex marriage.

Election 2012: Obama Re-elected!

This will be the last political post for a long while, I think. The election is over, the results are in. Am I happy? HELL YES. This election was about more than who's going to be the next POTUS. It was an election about ideals. About standing up and believing in equality and inalienable rights. About moving this country into the 21st century and keeping up with the rest of the world.

If you missed it last night, I really suggest you go read the full text of Obama's victory speech. It was incredible.


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The one thing I've seen that bothers me most is how people have been throwing God at the situation. I've seen posts that range from the harmless "Pray for our country" to the ridiculously notion that somehow they need God to save us from this terrible leader we have. Christians are acting like Obama is some sort of tyrant or anti-Christian ruler who is determined to destroy us all and the only way to possibly survive the next four years is if God (who, according to them, was a Romney supporter) has mercy on all our souls.

Uh, WTF?

As I've said on FB already... maybe God wanted Obama to win. Before you're so quick to condemn him for winning and claim God didn't want that and you need His protection to survive, maybe you should consider the notion that this is God's plan. After all, Obama was the candidate who supported accepting everyone despite their difference. He supports equality across the board. If God was going to get behind anything, wouldn't it be the idea that we need to love each other and treat each other fairly and equally? So calm down, Christians. You make us less-panicky, less-egocentric Christians look bad.

ANYWAY.

I didn't want to get on a soapbox. I wanted to take this post to celebrate that Barack Obama will be my president for another four years. And what's the best way to do that? With celebratory gifs!! All of these came from tumblr.

My Political Beliefs

Okay, so I lied. I said I wouldn't really talk about my political beliefs. But I was cruising through the internet, reading blogs, reading articles, and looking at Facebook when I realized... this is my blog. I don't have a kid, I'm not married, I don't DIY, and I don't have the budget for fashion, travel, or even innovative recipes. So what does that leave?

I have my opinions. My thoughts. My life.

So I'll say it's for posterity. For my own satisfaction. Because even though I live in an area where I was ostracized for not being politically conservative, I'm still proud of what I believe. And because I firmly believe that you shouldn't bully or shun people just because they want to talk about the "serious" issues or just because their opinions on those "serious" issues don't coincide with yours.

So what do I believe?

As I stated in my previous political post - I believe that, if you're going to vote, you owe it to your country and your fellow Americans to get informed first. I believe you shouldn't vote on party lines - it shouldn't matter if someone is Republican, Democratic, Green Party, whatever - you should vote based on where someone stands on the issues specifically (which goes back to being informed). And on top of that, you need to vote based on your own convictions about the issues. Don't vote for the Republican just because you think you side with Republicans because that's what your parents do. Read up on the issues, where the specific candidate stands, decide where you stand, and THEN vote Republican if everything still lines up. If not? Vote for whoever lines up with you.

Where do I stand? I'm a Liberal and here's why:

I'm a Liberal because I'm a Christian.


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As a Christian, I find it mandatory that we need compassion for our fellow men. I support a candidate who wants to help Americans - the disabled poor, the working poor, the unemployed, the uninsured, the middle class, the working class, the ostracized, the excluded. You know, those "huddled masses" we like to brag about welcoming in. It shouldn't matter if someone is gay, if they're a minority, if they weren't born here, or what religion they are. Across the board, everyone needs a fair shot at this American Dream we harp so much on. We're supposed to love everyone as Christians and as it stands now, the Liberal side (and some Moderates) are the only ones who truly showcase that time and time again.

I'm a Liberal because I'm a historian.


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I've been studying history for years. European history. American history. Chinese history. Native American history. Through wars and empires and there's one story that remains the same - those who don't have open minds are the ones who get left behind. They're the ones History looks back on and frowns. Fifty years ago, people thought it was okay to be "separate but equal" and that integration was an abomination. People thought women didn't need the right to vote. Nowadays, people want to outlaw gay marriage and deny women their reproductive rights. History is a litany of reasons why we should keep an open mind and when I'm an old woman and my grandchildren ask me what I thought about these things - I don't want to tell them I hid behind religious rhetoric, fear, and bias, I want to tell them that I've always believed in equality for everyone.

Politics - Do Your Research!

I was going to keep away from politics because I understand that it makes some people uncomfortable, but then I thought... this is my blog and, really, as a historian-in-training, I feel I would be amiss not to talk about something that is so important. Politics drive history and as someone who is going to spend their life's work teaching history, I want to talk about history-type things from time to time.

And presidential election? That's history in the making. I just can't ignore it. If there's anything worth talking about, shouldn't it be the future of your country? Someday, you might have a grandchild who wanted to know how you felt and what you thought about the Obama/Romney Election of 2012 and -

I digress.

The point of this post is not to tell you to vote for a specific candidate or anything like that. The point is to tell you that a) go vote, but b) INFORM YOURSELF IN THE ISSUES FIRST.

We have the internet. Use it and abuse it. Politico, MSNBC, CNN, Huffington Post, BBC (not American, but really helpful), and any variety of fact-checking websites. The majority of these are bipartisan or unaffiliated/unbiased and report FACTS not rhetoric. You should be choosing a candidate based on their policies and nothing more - don't trust debates, because candidates LIE.

I strongly suggest ISideWith.com.

This is a little test that provides you with a list issues and the stances of ALL the candidates (even the third party ones). You pick which stance you agree with most (it doesn't tell you which candidate/party supports which stance, so you won't be swayed that way). At the end, it gives you percentages of who you side most with (from Obama to Romney to third party candidates like Johnson). (THESE are my results - I'll admit that I didn't even know who some of the third party candidates were until I took this test, it was super informative and cool.)

Because at the end of the day, it shouldn't matter if someone is Republican or Democratic or Libertarian, or if they're Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, or Muslim. What matters is where they stand on the issues that affect this country and whether or not they stand where YOU stand on said issues.

I will confess that I identify most with Left-leaning parties, but I would never commit to being Democrat or whatever, because I might not always stand with a Democrat candidate. After all, the Democratic Party was originally founded by Andrew Jackson and we all know where he stood on certain issues.

So I hope I don't scare anyone away with my political ramblings. In my history classes, I've been in the 1960s-1970s for months and so I blame the need to post this on all the mojo coming off those decades. :]

AND to end on something totally random:

TODAY is my third anniversary with the BF. Yay! I made steak and it was delicious.