86-year-old WWII vet on gay marriage

86-year-old WWII vet on gay marriage at a public meeting on Maine's marriage equality bill on April 22, 2009: "What do you think I fought for in Omaha Beach?" A powerful video:

Cultural Differences: Interracial Marriage Denied in La.

This justice of the peace in Louisiana who would not marry an interracial couple is getting a lot of heat. And here, I'd posted the story on the Facebook fan page, because I thought it was funny.

"I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

C'mon, Jon Stewart's whole staff couldn't make that line up! Alas, I know we're not "post-racial," because no one else laughed. I get it: this justice reminds us of that time when miscegenation was illegal, and back then, this wouldn't have been funny. I'm sure the couple was stunned, as I would have been, at the moment the justice's (not judge) wife told them her husband doesn't marry interracial couples. But then they just went to a different dude in the same area, and they're married now.

I think we should lay off an old man who grew up when people thought colored people carried disease (and so people were afraid to let us use their restrooms). Let him and his views retire quietly like so many embers in an abandoned fire. It's the next generation we should put all this indignant energy toward teaching, not the last one. Hope you can laugh about this:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Reform Madness - White Minority
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Father's Day

If there is only one lesson we can learn from our parents, it is forgiveness. They know their children will hurt them, and they have them anyway. Then, we hurt them, but they keep loving us. They COULD put up a wall between them and their children, and perhaps some do, but even those who do will simultaneously give up their parent title, as if it is written in our DNA that forgiveness is integral to parenthood.

Sometimes, parents make mistakes by their children, and if we learned well, we forgive them back. As this blog's not about easy love, if you have a hard time loving your parents, I hope you take some time today to enumerate the things your parents did out of love, even if you didn't get the love message at the time. I would even champion a letter detailing your resulting list. Something along the lines of, "All the times you did [blank], I understand you were doing it because you loved me." As a friend has said, we spend plenty of time measuring each other by our failures. Even if they abandoned or abused, were addictive or incarcerated, what harm can come from acknowledging that no one is completely evil nor completely good?

Happy Fathers' Day!!!!

Telugu Bollywood on Generation Gap: LOVE MAKES LIFE BEAUTIFUL

Still sick, but been listening to this song in bed from the awesome Telugu movie Bommarillu. Gotta love when the mom drops the beat at 3:02. When I'm stressed out about how introducing my boyfriend to my parents will go, this song lets me know I'm not the first one to stress out about the parents and I definitely won't be the last. :) Enjoy!