My Two Moms

The Setting: On Friday, November 14 about 2000 demonstrators protested at Temple Square in Salt Lake City against CA Prop 8, which amends California's constitution to define marriage as legal only between one man and one woman.

Another 2,000 protesters had picketed Thursday afternoon outside the Los Angeles temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Opponents of Prop 8 said they targeted the Mormon church because, allegedly, Mormon leaders had instructed church members to support the cause as much as possible, and that the church "donated a majority of money raised in support of the measure” (rumor has it, $19M). Protesters wondered if $19M was the amount needed to erase that line between church and state. The church said that it did not target any specific group and said in a statement that “it is disturbing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a free election."

The Mormon leaders recently stated, "undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a husband and a wife united in bonds of matrimony." Protesters felt the church was being hypocritical, considering their history with polygamy, which involves relations between a husband and several wives. Although the practice was abandoned over 100 years ago, some Fundamentalist groups are rumored to still practice it underground (ala Warren Jeffs).

Needless to say, this battle will not be over for a long time to come. Whatever your views, my favorite picket sign I saw on CNN during the Salt Lake protests said, "My two moms can beat up your 14 wives."

Vote Vote Vote!

The Setting: Early October in a westbound Delta flight. A 23-year old female is talking to a 26-year old male whom she met during the flight. Valley Val is eavesdropping (mainly because she hadn't bothered putting on her noise canceling headphones).

Female: "Yeah, my sister and I are so different. We're nothing alike. I'm short, she's tall; I have blond hair and blue eyes, she has brown hair and dark eyes; I'm Democrat, and she has a stick up her ass..."

Those were her words, not mine.

I voted during early voting, but I took my mother to the polls this morning. Very early this morning. We got in line just before 5 am. There were around 20 people in front of us. The doors opened at 6 am and we were back in the car at 6:15. By then, there were probably another 200 people in line. What I noticed about the crowd was the mixture of people: older people (definition: anyone older than I am), younger people; black people, white people, brown people (a lot more white than black or brown); people (supposedly) with sticks up their asses, others (allegedly) with no sticks up theirs.

The polls are beginning to close in the eastern states. CNN just projected that McCain won Kentucky and Obama won Vermont. Hopefully, by the end of the night, we will know which one is our next president, and it won't drag on for days. No matter what happens, history will be made tonight. I kinda like this strange new world in which two young white people can sit on an airline flight and openly discuss why they're voting for a black man. Another thing that's for sure: this has been the most interesting, exciting, mud slingingly, emotional election in which I have ever voted. And I am SO glad it's (almost) over.