Its Marriage Equality, not the Conservative Christian's Interpretation of Marriage Equality

Never one to shy from political discussion, I'll chime in here.

"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

-Thomas Jefferson

That is not some obscure quote. Its carved on the wall of his memorial.

America is a democracy that is governed by popular social opinion. The popular social opinion right now is that gay or transgender marriage shouldn't be any different than straight marriage. (This opinion polls at over 80% of voters under 30, and the majority of the general population)

This next sentence is the most important of this whole essay:

No statute set by the Supreme Court will force conservative Christian congregations to perform gay marriage. Just as FDA regulations on the sanitary processing of hogs, doesn't force an Orthodox Jew to eat pork. A ruling in favor of gay marriage simply allows the possibility. If your individual Church doesn't believe that LGBT people should marry, and you aren't gay yourself; then a ruling on
Gay marriage doesn't affect you.

However, a ruling against it discriminates against almost 12 million Americans. Americans, who may or may not have the same religious views as you. There is a significant portion of America whose Muslim faith dictates that they make a pilgrimage to Mecca. The Laws of our country obviously do not impose this obligation on everyone, but they don't PROHIBIT it for those who religiously believe it to be a requirement; Gay Marriage is no different.

Regardless of any one person or faith's interpretation of their respective religious text, let’s be sure we as human beings do two things:

1. Compel others to hear our opinions, think on them, and make up their own mind. Let’s not use Ad Hominem attacks on other's faith to further our arguments. My LGBT supporting Christian church is plenty Christian to me. Even if you don't agree, please respect that.

2. Let's not allow our religious views to dictate how everyone else MUST think. The very first statement of the very first amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." No one is forcing you to change your personal religious views on an issue, so long as you don't allow your personal religious views to force the way everyone else thinks.

Religious persecution is not only a phrase applied to people discriminated against because of their religion, it also applies to the people persecuting others who don’t have the same faith. In either case the persecutor, not the persecutee is in the wrong.

But Here’s the key, I will support tooth and nail, the right of others to be Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, or Gender Queer. Their bodies, their lives, and their personal interpretations do not fall under the jurisdiction of my personal interpretation, only I do. I can sit next to someone in the pew and sing the same praises to the same God, regardless of what he/she/he-she interprets the bible to dictate on the subject. In the same way, I can sit next to someone on the train and ride to work safely without fear of discrimination regardless of their religion or beliefs on the subject; And I personally believe that, that kind of acceptance, and tolerance is what Jesus cares about above all else.

Love In Christ,

-Chris

Twelve Reasons Why You Voted Republican

I have seen this on 10 or so walls, so instead of eviscerating each of you in front of all of your friends, I’ll do it on my own time. My responses to each of the original 12 points:

1. You voted Republican because you feel the need to compare every LGBT person to a dog. You think that anyone who loves someone in a different way than you is engaging in bestiality. You don’t care about making this claim publically on facebook, because even though all of you probably have at least one gay friend, you don’t mind shattering their world on an issue that has absolutely no effect on your own personal life.

2. You voted Republican because you don’t want to research facts before you blindly accept them. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (also out of Oil Companies Tax Returns) Oil actually makes closer to 34% profit off of every gallon. Good thing you didn’t let something like facts get in your way.

3. You voted Republican because of GREED. Don’t try and lace it as who thinks whom is a better fiscal manager. You want to keep more of your money, and don’t want to help others who need it. Possibly because you only want to follow certain aspects of whichever major world religion you belong too, and ignore any altruistic message each one may have.

4. You voted Republican because you truly don’t believe in freedom of speech. Any argument you may have to the contrary is ridiculous. You suppress rights and thoughts of anyone who isn’t a straight white male. You are the party of homogeneousness; you represent small minded speech from a small portion of the populous.

5. You voted Republican because you chose to completely ignore the portion of the debate where President Obama said he wouldn’t touch gun laws, or infringe upon 2nd amendment rights. In fact the Brady Report (a grade given to leaders on their efforts to eliminate guns) gave Obama an F. If Gun rights were what you voted on, then you completely missed the target. Just to be clear, I am one of 6 total democrats nationwide that support gun ownership, and one of the others is President Obama, so you can take this and shove it up your ass.

6. You voted Republican because in the midst of the largest and most destructive east coast hurricane in the history of our nation, during the worst drought of the last 50 years, under the highest sea levels recorded, during the most expansive levels of acid rain, you still believe that our climate isn’t changing. You also don’t seem to know the difference between the opinions of your local station’s meteorologist, and the majority of climate scientists worldwide.

7. You voted Republican because you consider the victims of rape to be under the same circumstances as people who have committed murder. I’ll let you explain to me how you can allow the definition of life to be from Conception to Conviction. (trade marking that if it isn’t taken) You voted republican because you fail to grasp the concept that Pro-Choice isn’t Pro-Abortion. No one is going to make you get an abortion if it goes against your religious views, but you seem to believe that your religious views should dictate the ability of others to have a choice.

8. You voted Republican because you don’t understand how the social security program works, nor have you ever read the inscription on the statue of liberty. You seem to be under the impression that the ancestors of anyone who isn’t Mexican immigrated here legally. You think that the dwindling of social security is a result of democratic swindling, and not of the population boom of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Last time I checked, yours was the party of Pension Busting, and 401k ruining. I’m glad you choose to focus in of Social Security though, and found a way to blame it on immigrants who do the job’s you’re content to not have to deal with.

9. You voted Republican not because you believe business should make profits, but because you are content with businesses making profits off of working peoples hardships. You don’t have a problem with the CEO of Hostess getting a 300% raise while the workers take paycuts, and the company faces bankruptcy. See your reason #3 for voting Republican.

10. Citizens for America. Nuff said.

11. You voted Republican because you don’t give a flying fuck about people who lost their lives or welfare in the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the resulting damage to the fishing industry on the gulf. You voted republican because people whose livelihoods are destroyed by your reckless abandon, are somehow replaced by people who gain livelihoods off of the oil industry. You voted republican because you’re too stubborn to begin relying on a power source that is sustainable. But mainly see reason #3.

12. You voted Republican and then reposted (or wrote) this article because even though the majority of the country thinks differently than you, you are unwilling to do something someone else’s way, and are committed to wasting the next four years opposing change, for better or worse just because your cannot accept that so many people across our nation don’t feel the same as you. Get over it and let the rest of us get to solving real issues.

1st debate, a battle of unicorns and dragons.

We're all idiots, because we are all arguing who won last nights debate. No one won. America lost. We watched a debate, where the conservative candidate changed his views on camera, and the Liberal candidate was so flustered by these lies that he couldn't respond accordingly.

I'm gonna throw this up here, because it's probably gonna be long, and heinous, and mean. Whereas I would normally put things on facebook, to avoid constant finger-pointing from conservative former classmates and apparently their conservative parents; (seriously, who the f*** are you?!) I'll try and limit my diatribes to this blog, so you can read 'em if you want to, but then can't complain about 'em if you dont.

First of all, yes the president fumbled. He missed some opportunities; but you would too. Read these Actual Facts from the Debate

No shit, the president fumbled. He prepared to defend his policies and argue about his opponents policies (fyi that's what a fucking debate is about, not who looked at the camera more) and then when Romney began making remarks, he opens up his mouth and rainbows and centaurs jump out. Romney completely flipped his positions to date or straight up made facts up. THEN he had the audacity (of hope) to call out the president for fact stretching.

Repeatedly over the first 45 minutes (great job corralling the debate by the way Jim) Romney delcared that he didn't have a 5 trillion dollar tax cut, and discredited the president by accusing him of making up this figure. MITT, YOU PROPOSE A 20% CUT IN TAXES, RIGHT THERE ON YOUR WEBSITE, ROUGHLY 5 TRILLION DOLLARS in stand alone individual taxes. right there!

So He tries to clarify, ok he has a neutral tax platform. He says (also right there on the website!) that there will be no change in taxes, that his "closing loopholes" will make up for this 5 trillion dollar tax cut. But to date he hasn't mentioned how this is MATHEMATICALLY POSSIBLE. then once he's explained that, he goes on to repeat, that he doesn't have this 5 trillion dollar tax cut, WHICH IS LISTED AS PART OF HIS ECONOMIC PLAN AND THAT HE JUST ADMITTED TO HAVING.

So the president clarifies, yes you have a neutral plan, you claim to make up for this tax cut by closing loopholes, we can ignore the 5 trillion dollar elephant in the room if we can prove that its being balanced out. He straight up asks you how you plan to do this, and you respond by repeating that your plan has no such tax cut. How Stupid do you think i am? Conservatives reading this, show me where in his plan he points out arithmetically how he's going to make up for this cut? Because I can sure as shit show you on his website where he states that a 20% tax cut is part of his plan. A bold faced lie to the american people.

If that wasn't bad enough, he the ignores the moderator everytime, demanding that he be allowed to respond, and straight up insults Jim Lehrer! How should he be given the right to respond when he stands there and makes shit up!

You want to declare victory conservatives? What are you declaring victory over? That your candidate lies to his constituents? 47% of whom are apparently leeches? Are you that blind? Your candidate may have looked calmer, and spoke forcefully. But he did so in an event that was no longer a debate, it was a platform for lies and deceit. Is this how you want your candidate to win? By completely changing his standpoints on policies and doing it with a shit eating grin on his face?

His campaign gets huge sums of cash from wall street, and up until now he hasn't had a problem with it. But once he's on TV, he shakes that etchasketch and says that Dodd-Frank should've be opposed because its regulations help those dirty New York bankers. Yeah dummy, it also kept us afloat and not eating horse stew.

He claimed that we need better education and he wont cut funding. He wants to hire more teachers, how on earth does this man keep inventing more money? Is there really that much stowed away in offshore accounts that he hides from the public?

Someone's Dad, (their dad!) told me my facts were based on liberal bias. Well chief, that's because FACT seems to be inherently a liberal idea. Of course most media outlets are slightly liberal, they seek to convey fact to viewers. Conservative media outlets who normally just make shit up, don't have to this time around. The man they want to be POTUS, has done their fantasy writing for them. Watch out G.R.R. Martin, Romney's pretty good at inventing whole worlds himself.

Every one of you sitting at your desk today extolling Romney's debate victory should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves. Not because you choose a conservative candidate, because honestly, politicians lie; its what they do best, but because you are extolling a victory for this liar based on his invention of facts. Either you are too blind of a lemming to actually check these facts yourself, or worse you are so corrupt and evil, that you have become immune to Romney's imaginary promises, just so you can get a victory in the white house.

What happens if Romney is elected, and he actually has to show how he plans on making up these deficits? What happens when he has to actually develop policies that make sense, instead of relying on the stupidity of Americans to believe whatever wagon of bullshit he's selling as gold? I honestly hope we don't see that day, but if you keep ignoring how the self declared "winner" won, then we're all in for a world of hurt.

If you stop 2 sentences into this because you realize its political, then you have proved my point.

I am ashamed of you america, I'm not even going to capitalize you. I'm not upset that the right won. I agree with Scott Walker on several things (though not on the main issue; re: my mother's union was just on strike this year) I'm upset with how Scott Walker won.

What upsets me is how we've chosen to communicate with our constituents. The majority of people who consider themselves politically active in this country, get their opinions from MSNBC, or Fox News; and those people generally already have their minds made up when they tune in. In the words of a great man: stop, stop, stop hurting america.

Where is my neutral information source, america? Why don't you trust me to make up my own mind? Why does every story have a spin? Why does the majority of the nation know which party most recently made a fool of itself in an interview, but virtually NO ONE on the street can tell me what bills are being discussed on the floor today?

Why do poor white americans routinely vote against their best interests, solely because they're told to and they don't know any better? Why are there minorities who are not well informed enough to realize they need to vote? Why are there YOUNG PEOPLE in the MAJORITY who are content with being uninformed, not casting their choice, and yet are almost always the most vocal when it comes time to complain?

Why is there no limit on the amount of money you can throw at me to sway my opinion, and similarly how can you allow me to complain about it while ignoring how much a recall election costs every municipality in Wisconsin?

In short, stop getting your opinions from partisan TV, radio, commercials, and print. If you cant be pissed off by the first story, confused by the second, and empowered by the third, STOP Paying attention to it. If you see an ad that ends in "paid for by..." ANYTHING. disregard it. Care enough to figure out which issues are closest to your heart and develop your own opinion.

kayak video

Unbeknownst to me, DJ Easy Mac made a sweet video of my kayak launch in August. Currently working on a post for the new kayak and the Aquaponics set up. Stay Tuned!

Bedside Tables From Salvaged Alley Wood.

I saw these 2x14 six foot planks in a stairwell, when we first moved into our apartment in Lincoln Park. They were supes dirty and moldy. I figured if no one wanted them they wouldn't move for a while. So after 2 and a half years, I pounced and brought them to Gurnee for Christmas. 2 days in the shop later, we have some nice bedside tables. Staying true to form I tried to leave out all fasteners, and build sans metals using finger, rabbit, and dado joints. Enjoy.

Toll for using his shop was to help Dad hang panels in the garage. A fee I willingly undertook, however insincere i may have been during photo ops



On to the milling



Custom box joint jig



Planed results...



With the added benefit of a fertilized garden outside around the dust shoot.





Dado's ran, rabbited, and chiseled



Beating the finger joints into submission



Attaching the back





Rabbiting and assembling drawers

















Not bad for free lumber.

Cribbage Board

Decided to make a special someone a cribbage board for Christmas, to go along with her extreme love of the game. I headed up to my dad's shop so i could run loud tools deep into the night without interrupting neighbor's finals studying. The wood is a deep rich red African Padauk, and the pegs and hardware are all brass. A 0.5" magnet holds the whole kit together and keeps the pegs and deck locked inside.



























Test Runs with template





Boat Shoes





Insets Routed



Routing Recess For Each Hinge





Rounding over the top edge 1/4"



Hand-chiseling the recesses to size





Drilling 246 holes by eye



Workshop beer safety limit is 1





Finished Product









Seems Like a Success!