Wedding!

So planning a wedding and showing a bunch of friends the beauty of Michigan takes a LOT of time. Very sorry I have neglected the blog. I promise that I will be back in full swing soon...after the honeymoon of course. In the meantime....here are some pics! We had a beautiful day. Thanks to all of our friends and family who made it possible!

For anyone curious, here are our vows. We worked really hard on them and they say exactly what we feel about each other and the meaning of marriage.

I Kristen, take you Andrew to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union, trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. As I adore you now, I shall, even more, in your growing and becoming. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.

I saw the sign

...and it told me how to vote on the gay marriage amendment. (Are you singing Ace of Base right now? GOOD!)

The WaPo figured out the secret to voting behavior. Astrological signs. Yes. You read correctly. If you read this article and select "by astrological sign" you can see how you fare. The Virgos were split but at least they all showed up for the vote.....

Marjority Murtha?

So today John Murtha announced that if the Dem's win control of the house in November he will run for majority leader....as anyone who reads this blog probably knows, Murtha is notoriously anti-Iraq (not really anti war or anti military) and made some limited rounds on the Sunday talk shows a few months back calling for an immediate pull out. It is unclear if this decision is backed by the Democratic Party.

...I'm torn. I think IF this motivates lefties/anti war peeps/anti Peloski Dems to get out and vote in November he deserves a big pat on the back. BUT after witnessing some of his sub-par press performances, I worry that he is going to be another Dean. He has a lot of great ideas, gets people talking BUT also serves as a big ole' target for the word contorting right.* As someone who never thought we would be in Iraq in the first place, I favor a pull out BUT even my military inept mind is skeptical of Murtha's "we'll just leave" strategy.

Who knows....it is a political risk for the democrats...maybe he deserves the pat on the back just for jumping in head first.

* See the picture for a great example

** The picture does not express the views of the author of Delightfully Dawgmatic

Edit: I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Murtha's announcement probably made some people unhappy

Phew

The red herring failed.....wonder what he will come up with next. For a complete roll call look HERE.

*QD, that picture is for you!

Dixie Chicks...Again

Guess who is going to see the ladies with the number one album in the country?

Just. Guess.

Oh, it was that easy?

Yeah, I am. It is going to be GREAT. Tony the Tiger grrreat.

This is cool

not only because it is some analysis about why the GOP could be in trouble come fall but also because it is from Mackinac Island. And that is in Michigan. And I'm in Michigan....

Anyway...Zogby says so it must be true :)

"Get Out" of town

Have ya'll seen this? If you read some of the blogs on my sidebar you probably have. But I had to comment on it. . . .

I wrote about THIS comic character this semester. My research showed lots and lots of sexism in the comic world. A lesbian batwoman is intriguing. However, the article teases out some of the tension. Batwoman is still highly sexualized and her gender highly disciplined. She is a "socialite" and wears form fitting outfits. She is a lesbian with a "different perspective" (according to her creators) yet she is unable to escape the highly gendered world of female comic characters. BAHHH.

But, I will say this....visibility is a good thing. It doesn't always mean political change but to be visible in mainstream society means that you may be headed down to the road of acceptance.

We'll have to see where this goes.

GO Rhode Island!

Call me crazy but I think convicted felons should have the right to vote. I've felt strongly about this since I started volunteering in prisons my junior year of college. I teach the men and women about dialogue and argument. They do research, learn about current events and participate in debates. It is a great tool for empowerment. Through my time I realized how passionate, intelligent and mistreated the inmates are. Sure, sure...not all inmates want to better themselves and I'm not delusional (or idealistic) enough to think that all the individuals are there wrongly. However, I do believe that they are PAYING THEIR DEBT TO SOCIETY. Upon their release, or better yet, during their sentence they should be given the right to vote.

Selfishly, this is a good idea because most studies offer up a very different 2000 presidential race had all states allowed felons the right to vote. But nationally, we need to consider this. Over 1 million black men cannot vote due to felony charges on their record. And if we continue down this path, 30-40% of the next generation of black men will be prohibited from voting. Jim Crow much? It doesn't end there. 3.9 million Americans are banned from voting. If a person pleads guilty to a single drug sale (hypothetically speaking, at the age of 19 during crazy college years), in some states that person would loose their right to vote forever. Yeah, I know...stupid. For felons that enter back into mainstream society, we have an obligation to do everything we can to make them into citizens. What better way to do it then to give them a vested interest in their community?

Sure, not every convicted felon wants to vote. Not every non-felon wants to vote. And not every felon will be an educated, productive citizen. But I know lots of apolitical people and not a one of them are convicted felons.

Cheers for Rhode Island for reconsidering their ridiculous law. I hope other states do the same. My sitemeter says no, but if I have any readers in Rhode Island....GET OUT THERE AND WRITE A LETTER (um, please. thank you.).

Here is another great informational resource.