Sean says...
This was what I submitted as an editorial response to The Baltimore Sun Article "Gay Rights At Standstill" today. Link is to
Maryland Senate Minority Leader David R Brinkley (R) was quoted as saying the following in The Baltimore Sun's May 4, 2008 Sunday Edition article "Gay Rights At Standstill":
"You have this group that's shrieking from rooftops that they need these rights, and everyone else is just trying to maintain their households… It just doesn't resonate."
Two years ago my partner Stefan and I met on of all things Match.com and fell in love like many couples have. We live together and both contribute to a mortgage. We both have stable jobs with benefits. This fall we looked over my new benefits package and made a few selections. We met with a financial planner together in September to prepare for immediate financial and retirement goals.
But Senator Brinkley of course doesn't think we will want to think, plan, or do any of this. Senator Brinkley says we aren't a household or even people who care about maintaining one. We're apparently not even interested in buying things or saving money. We apparently don't clip coupons, drive, commute, vacation, turn on the light when we get home at night, or own property in his mind either I guess.
How could we both be so delusional? Why didn't anyone tell us we weren't normal before? I guess it didn't quite resonate.
Thanks Senator Brinkley for keeping us informed and representing our interests in the General Assembly. We won't shriek so loudly next time.
www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.gayrights04may04,0,5065065.story
baltimoresun.com
Gay rights at standstill
Governor's inaction during Assembly disappoints activists
By Laura Smitherman
Sun reporter
May 4, 2008
Gay and lesbian activists thought they had a friend in Martin O'Malley.
As a progressive mayor in Baltimore, O'Malley attended gay pride parades and signed into law a measure to protect transgender people from discrimination. When he ran for governor, he said he supported civil unions and wanted to extend benefits to same-sex partners of state employees, as he had done for city workers.But two years into O'Malley's first term in Annapolis, neither has happened. He largely stayed out of the debate over legal recognition for same-sex unions that fizzled in the General Assembly, and aides say his financially strapped administration probably won't grant benefits for at least another year.
The lack of momentum for gay rights in the State House is the latest disappointment for activists after a lawsuit to force the legalization of same-sex marriage failed in state courts. While O'Malley's allies say he has done as much as he can in the face of significant hurdles, activists say they feel sidelined.
"There's just not a lot to be enthusiastic about, because the governor hasn't done much to help us move forward," said Dan Furmansky, director of Equality Maryland, a leading gay rights group. "Why did the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community work so hard to elect this person? What do we have to show for it at this point?"
The fits and starts of gay rights in Maryland reflect what has happened nationally. Four years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriage, no other state has followed suit, and only a handful offer civil unions, an institution that dissatisfies many activists who consider it separate but unequal.
O'Malley plans to sign two bills this month that would grant same-sex couples some rights of married couples, including the ability to visit each other in the hospital and an exemption from certain property taxes.
Spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said the governor would revisit proposals concerning other benefits and protections, and that he is willing to work with the legislature on civil unions.
"We didn't accomplish everything that we wanted to do," Abbruzzese said. "And there's a conversation that needs to continue on civil unions, but the reality is, a marriage bill will not pass through the Maryland General Assembly."
O'Malley has reached out to the gay community during his political career, drawing volunteers and campaign dollars.
As mayor, O'Malley implemented a law that bars discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation based on gender identity, and he formed a gay and lesbian task force to be a liaison with City Hall.
O'Malley might have been stymied in forwarding gay rights as governor by budget battles that forced him to expend political capital to get tax increases and spending cuts approved.
Former Gov. Parris N. Glendening, a Democrat whose gay brother died of AIDS after an Air Force career during which he remained closeted, said that budget problems also consumed his early years before he could focus on progressive measures, such as a statewide prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation.
"What you're seeing now is a political reality," Glendening said.
But Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley, a Republican representing Carroll and Frederick counties, said inaction on gay rights measures in Maryland reflects the public's greater interest in other issues such as the flagging economy and education. He opposes same-sex unions as institutions that undermine traditional marriage.
"You have this group that's shrieking from rooftops that they need these rights, and everyone else is just trying to maintain their households," Brinkley said. "It just doesn't resonate. I don't see fire hoses and dogs being turned on gay activists. That, to me, is not a civil rights problem."
The push for health and other benefits for domestic partners of government workers has been under way in Maryland for more than 15 years. Baltimore adopted the policy in 1993 under Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke. Some officials at the University of Maryland, College Park resolved to do the same for faculty and staff members the next year - a fight that continues.
Robyn S. Zeiger, a professor at the university, said she and her partner of 25 years have paid escalating amounts for her to be privately insured. "I'm really tired of hearing it's about the budget because civil rights transcend money, and I hope O'Malley does the right thing," Zeiger said.
Providing the benefits to all state employees would cost about $3 million a year, according to legislative analysts.
Abbruzzese said action by the governor to grant the benefits would have been unnecessary had legislation recognizing same-sex unions passed during the session. He said it is too late now for money to be set aside for the benefits in the next fiscal year.
The fate of statewide transgender protections is unclear. The governor's Commission on Human Relations had planned to file the bill, but Del. Peter A. Hammen, a Baltimore Democrat and committee chairman, declined to consider it unless the governor lobbied to rally support in the Senate, where it failed in committee last year. In the end, the administration did not introduce it.
It is also unclear whether activists can build enough support for legislation recognizing civil unions or same-sex marriage. Many say the biggest obstacle would be the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where some had hoped that Sen. C. Anthony Muse, a Prince George's County Democrat and evangelical Christian bishop, would provide the key vote for such legislation this year. He did not.
"I would like to see civil unions, and we've got one vote in the Senate to change, and that's it," said Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat who is openly gay. "But it's going to be hard to push for civil marriage in the next two years. You can't just get people to roll easily on these votes."
laura.smitherman@baltsun.com
Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun
Sean says...
Well I finally watched a second episode of Grey's Anatomy after swearing NOT to ever watch another episode again after recovering from last seasons horror of both the Ferry Boat Disaster incident, Isaiah Washington's homophobic comments and messy "firing", and Kate Walsh leaving for her own show Private Practice (which sucks but I still love Dr Addison Montgomery!) And you know what? I loved the episode! Out of it came the best quote that tells me Grey's is back to great writing... oh and please forgive my soap opera type attitude about this show that I loved and then grew angry at in Season 3!
Dr Callie Torres (Sarah Ramirez) - worried now that Addison has told her that her relationship with Dr Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) seemed on the verge of being lesbian in nature - notices Dr Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Dr Christina Yang (Sandra Oh) goofing around at lunch. Callie barrels in and asks the twosome if anyone though that were more like a couple than friends... Meredith does not miss a beat, and unleashes the quote of the MONTH!
"No, because we screw boys like whores on tequila."
No exclamation point, not pretense. Plain, simple, and (if you watch the show) oh so true!
It's so nice to have my "story" back... happy sigh... thank you Mikelle for talking me back into it!
The McFreeds report...
We are off to a day long workshop on gay and lesbian adoption this morning. The true first step to our becoming parents at some point hopefully in the next 3 years! We know its just a workshop and they don't hand you a kid on the way out the door, but it is a way for us to truly launch ourselves into one of our passions in life... to be lucky dads to a great kid! Stefan gets to be Dad while Sean wants to be Papa in honor of his grandfather.
Sean celebrates...
The Boston Red Sox's David "Big Papi" Ortiz has been a horrible slump since the beginning of the 2008 MLB Season. Tonight (April 18, 2008), he broke the jinx with a GRAND SLAM against the Texas Rangers at Boston's Fenway Park!!!
Congrats Big Papi! Welcome back!
Sean pants heavily...
What a game in San Diego on April 17, 2008!
SAN DIEGO (AP) -Let's play 2 1/2!
Colorado and San Diego did just that Thursday night and into Friday morning, slogging through a 22-inning game that was the longest in the majors in nearly 15 years.
The Rockies finally won 2-1, with Troy Tulowitzki 's two-out RBI double bringing in Willy Taveras with an unearned run in nearly empty Petco Park. A game that lasted 6 hours, 16 minutes was decided by an unearned run.
Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy threw the game's first pitch at 7:05 p.m. The game didn't end until 1:21 a.m., when Padres pitcher Glendon Rusch took a called third strike. Colorado's Yorvit Torrealba , who caught all 22 innings, wearily pumped a fist in celebration.
''It's tough to keep your head into it and put together good at-bats and be into every pitch,'' Tulowitzki said. ''We were talking about how our legs were hurting out there. It's tough to stand on your feet for 22 innings and keep moving.''
Manager Clint Hurdle noticed that his players were a little tight.
''This was a good game to get outside yourself,'' Hurdle said. ''About the 16th inning, I said, 'Hey boys, no matter what's in front of us, there's a world of people out there who've got harder rows to hoe than we do. No matter what happens the rest of the night, have some fun with this thing.' ''
His players listened. It just took them six more innings to score a run.
''It's definitely better to win in a 22-inning game than lose, I'll tell you that,'' Tulowitzki said.
It was the longest game since Aug. 31, 1993, when Minnesota beat Cleveland 5-4 in 22 innings. It was also the longest game in Rockies history and in the 5-year history of Petco Park. It was the longest by innings for the Padres, and one minute short of matching the longest by time for San Diego.
There's something about these two teams and extra innings. On Oct 1., Colorado rallied past the Padres for a 9-8 win in 13 innings in the wild-card tiebreaker game.
There was a little bit of everything, but far too little offense on Thursday. There were planes to catch - The Rockies open a series Friday in Houston and the Padres will be at Arizona - but the game was scoreless until the 14th inning. Wouldn't you know it, each team scored a run that inning to prolong it.
In the 22nd, Taveras reached on a two-out grounder when shortstop Khalil Greene 's throw pulled 6-foot-7 first baseman Tony Clark off the bag. Taveras stole second and took third on catcher Josh Bard 's throwing error. Tulowitzki doubled to left-center of Glendon Rusch (0-1), the seventh Padres pitcher. Taveras set a club record with 10 at-bats.
Only a fraction of the crowd of 25,984 was around to see the final out.
Some Padres players amused themselves in the 18th by taping up the head of a stuffed ram and placing it on the front bench in the dugout. After the 18th, shortly after midnight, the sprinklers came on in the Park at the Park, a grassy knoll beyond the bleachers in right-center.
There was a seventh-inning stretch, a 14-inning stretch and finally, a 21st-inning stretch.
Greg Maddux had his glove on in the dugout in the 22nd. It was wishful thinking, because he's scheduled to start Friday night at Arizona, when he'll try for his 350th career victory.
The stadium's cleanup crew sat listlessly in the far upper deck as the game dragged on, knowing they were going to be working into the wee hours.
There were 659 pitches, by 15 pitchers. There were numerous foul balls. In the 14th inning, a man in the second deck caught a foul ball and yelled, ''That's it, I'm going home!'' as other fans cheered. He stayed until the end.
''That was an incredible baseball game,'' Padres manager Bud Black said. ''It will go down as one that everybody who was here, will never forget it.''
San Diego's Josh Bard , who also caught all 22 innings, was angry.
''You give up two runs in 22 innings and you should win,'' he said.
''It's disappointing that we played so long and didn't get a win,'' right fielder Brian Giles said. ''Hopefully we'll play nine tomorrow.''
Had he ever played a game that long?
''Just in softball,'' Giles said.
The previous longest game this season by innings was 15, on April 9, when the Cubs beat the Pirates 6-4 at Pittsburgh. The previous longest in time was 4 hours, 53 minutes, Toronto at Texas on April 16. Texas won 7-5 in 14 innings.
Kip Wells (1-0), the eighth Rockies pitcher, pitched four innings.
Padres pitchers tied a team record with 20 strikeouts and their Rockies counterparts also set a record with 17 punchouts. Colorado stranded 16 runners and San Diego 14.
The Rockies went ahead 1-0 in the top of the 14th inning when Brad Hawpe drew a bases-loaded walk off Kevin Cameron to bring in Taveras.
The Padres tied it in the bottom of the inning when Bard's bases-loaded single off Manny Corpas brought in Kevin Kouzmanoff , aboard on a leadoff single. Tony Clark was forced at home for the second out and rookie Colt Morton - San Diego's last position player - grounded to third in his fourth big league at-bat. It was Corpas' second blown save in five chances.
The Padres blew a big chance in the 13th. Paul McAnulty led off with a line drive into the right-field corner but was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple. Left-hander Randy Wolf , who beat the Rockies 6-0 on Tuesday night, followed with a pinch-hit single to center field but was stranded.
Three Rockies pitchers retired 23 straight Padres batters from the second to the 10th inning.
Peavy and Rockies lefty Jeff Francis started a pitcher's duel that the bullpens continued.
Peavy was trying to win his first four starts of a season for the first time. He struck out a season-high 11 in eight innings, the 25th time in his career he's reached double digits. He allowed four hits, walked three and lowered his ERA to 1.20.
Francis kept the Padres scoreless for seven innings while allowing three hits, striking out seven and walking one.
After Peavy's broken-bat, bloop single down the right-field line with two outs in the second, Francis retired 16 straight batters.
Brian Fuentes pitched a perfect eight and Taylor Buchholz a perfect ninth. Buchholz retired pinch-hitter Jim Edmonds leading off the 10th before allowing Greene's single.
Notes: The 13 full scoreless innings were the most in the big leagues since July 20, 2004, at Oakland, when the A's beat Toronto 1-0 in 14. It was the longest for the Padres since July 15, 1994, when they won 2-1 at the New York Mets in 14. It was 0-0 after 13. ... The Padres have gone 94 innings without a home run.
Sean shares a silly story...
On April 17, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI held a mass at the new Nationals Park (the home of the MLB Washington Nationals). DC's Metro put this ad on the air but it was quickly yanked because of objections from the papacy due to the portrayal of the pope as a bobblehead doll and the colors of his vestments. So here it is for y'all to enjoy! The first words of the ad are in Latin...hence the subtitles!
Sean relates an experience...
Yes, its true I was raised a good Catholic boy. I attended Catholic school from 1st through 8th grades. Both my parents attended Catholic school as well as did my sisters. Unfortunately, I always felt an outsider to that denomination of Christianity. Maybe it was the teasing a received while there, the feeling of not always meeting the moral expectations of the faith's beliefs laid out by the teachers and nuns, or the uncomfortableness with the faith's teachings. Or maybe it was my inner gay man rejecting teachings that excluded anyone who was not Catholic and/or not following the Catholic teachings as not being worthy of Heaven or afterlife.
I learned how to dig into my spiritual nature because of my experiences with Catholicism however and learned that you can talk directly to God without a priest listening at confession. Nowadays, I think of myself as a reformed agnostic Catholic of no particular denomination. I enjoy attending Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) services now where denomination isn't important, personal communication with God and good works is. I haven't been in a while but I truly miss my former church in Fairfax under Pastor Kharma. I need to find the one here that has a better time and invest in it more.
Of course all this rambling brings me to the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to DC. My whole office watched him drive by in his pope mobile from above Pennsylvania Ave yesterday (April 16, 2008). It was exciting I must admit to see a figure in a position that has been around for centuries and has had a huge role - positive and negative - in world events. I mean I ws so excited that I sent "I've been Poped!" text messages to friends and family to let them know of the event! But I also have to be a bit reserved to the fact that this pope is not the forgiver that Pope John Paul II was and he is not a friend to gays and lesbians around the world. I say this because that is where I lay my hat and until religion recognizes that living life according to the Golden Rule of "loving thy neighbor as yourself" is the most important in any faith regardless of sect or denomination then I will always be cynical or organized faith.
In addition, I was struck by President George W. Bush saying the following during the Pope's visit to the White House:
"In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred and that each of us is willed."
Strange how a man can say this yet advocate the death penalty (which I actually support with some restrictions), torture, unlawful imprisonment, and corporate welfare as well as wage war (and I do support the Afghan conflict reasonings btw) at the same time without admitting he to has sinned. But I guess "our" President sees it as a crusade or vegeance or something. Hypocracy is just one of many reasons January 20, 2009 needs to get here soon.
Anyone else have thoughts about Catholicism, the pope, or religion in general? I love taboo topics for the dinner table!
Sean says...
My sister Mikelle decided to commit harassment by texting this week while my brother-in-law Eric, their son Zachary, and she vacation in Orlando.
Mikelle: "How does it feel to be working? Sucks doesn't it?"
During her texting she sent this hysterical yet adorable photo. Enjoy! Will she never learn that big brother always wins... (evil laugh)!
The McFreeds issue a radio tuning alert!...
Attention all Floridian major league baseball fans!!! The 2008 season has begun and that means Stefan's brother Andy Freed is working it on 1250 AM WHNZ radio with his on-air partner Dave Wills.
The Tampa Bay Rays made some changes in the off-season for the better and are slated as one of the teams to do well this year! As long as they don't beat the Boston Red Sox, Sean is excited to see the Rays win this year! If you love listening to baseball on radio, even if you are not a Rays fan, take a gander on how they call the game and tell them the McFreeds sent you! We try and catch all the games on mlb.com's audio set up which are also available on XM as well.
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Felipe Anuel said:
[this is good]Well said. read more
on Response to Dateline Maryland: Gays Rights At Standstill -
Crush-Monkey said:
[ciò è buono]Excellent quote really! read more
on The TV quote that made me enjoy my "story" again! -
Sean & Stefan said:
He still hasn't gotten over Addison really. read more
on The TV quote that made me enjoy my "story" again! -
Sundance said:
And for the record, Sloan would never go for Hahn in real life. I think the show is trying to... read more
on The TV quote that made me enjoy my "story" again!
This was my favorite quote of the episode as well!!! I loved that she said it without missing a beat.... read more
on The TV quote that made me enjoy my "story" again!