If This Isn't Hate, I Don't Know What Is

The story of Tyler Clementi has people buzzing about the globe as to whether the events that led up to his suicide should be constituted as a hate crime. Well, the eighteen year old boy decided to jump off of the George Washington bridge after he was outed by his school mates who transmitted an intimate encounter Clementi had with another male live over the internet via web cam without his knowledge.

The amateur film directors are Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, and fellow Rutgers freshman Molly Wei, both eighteen years old, as well. They are currently being charged with invasion of privacy which could include the increased severity of a hate crime. Wei and Ravi should be charged with much more than simply invasion of privacy. Their actions resulted in the death of another human being. Before they decided to degrade and bully Clementi in this manner they should have been weary of the emotional repercussions that could result.



If you choose that you want to commit such an ignorant and careless act for the mere twisted gratification of your own humor, then F-YOU buddy! You deserve what you get. Really though, it isn't so much Ravi and Wei that are to blame as much as their close minded parents who clearly guided them to hate homosexuals and that it is OK to bully those who they identify as different than their selves. I don't wish for my son to grow up and discover he is homosexual, but if that day were to come, he knows that I will love him regardless of who he is. Additionally, I consistently talk with him about how bullying and belittling others only shows how weak you are. I hope he will always protect the loner or the underdog.

People who attempt to destroy others' lives as a sport are just as guilty as any other criminal who murders, steals, rapes, etc. and destroys lives. Clementi lost his life due to how he was treated during such a fragile state of mind. If what happened to this young man wasn't hate, then I don't know what is. I hope they got a good laugh, because they certainly got the last.

No-Bama

I find it unsettling that it has taken this long for people to realize their mistake in choosing Obama as the American President. In a recent report, major CEOs stated that the are hiring less, controlling costs, and reducing risks because they don't know what Obama's next big plan for "change" will be. This fear of Obama from executives is dangerous in our fragile economy. Not knowing what the President's next moves will be or who's side he is on leaves everyone in the dark.

I have obviously never been a fan of our President, but I can honestly say that once he was elected I did give him a fair shot... Shot fired. Shot missed. It isn't so much that he utilizes Air Force One to take Michelle Obama on dates that costs the takes payers thousands of dollars or the fact that he didn't even know what he was doing when he signed the executive order to close Guantanamo. It's the fact that he gave billions of dollars to big business, supposedly to salvage the economy while these same companies are a large part of why the economy was ran into the ground in the first place... (that and George Bush, of course).

Obama is a Socialist and it hurts me that we, as a nation, could not choose a better candidate to proceed Bush and salvage some of what has taken place in the last decade.



Respectfully, I would still never choose to live in another Nation other than the United States of America. However, I have great expectations for the U.S. and feel that we, as a country, could be doing a great deal better for ourselves. Not one single person should be living in a "tent city." I am anxious to see what will unravel in years to come, both the ups and the downs. Though I am currently disappointed in our President, I am still hopeful and supportive. What other choice do I or we have?

Father Takes On Bullies

So I was watching the news yesterday and I came across a story about a father who was so irate at the thought of his young daughter being harassed by bullies on the school bus that he decided to take matters into his own hands. The children actually went as far as to put condoms on his daughter's head, smack her on the back of the head, and twist her ear! Now, if I am not mistaken, this is assault!

So the father, enraged at the thought of his little child being tortured for sheer amusement, boards the bus and begins to ask his daughter to point out the students who bullied her. He yells at the students and threatens them. Now he is facing charges for his actions. I ask you though, were his actions really that far out of line? As a parent of a six year old little boy I can only speculate as to how I would react if he came home and told me that he encountered a similar situation. Hell, I could react even worse! I certainly hope these bullies are facing criminal charges for putting their hands on that little girl... and condoms? The bullying today is much more extreme than we ever faced as children ourselves.



I know that kids will be kids, to a certain extent. Even my son has already been picked on for a shirt that he wore to school and he is only six years old! On the same token the school systems must incite stricter boundaries for students as well as school officials who turn a blind eye to such behavior. Why didn't the bus driver notice or report any of this bullying behavior? And why isn't the video coverage on the buses being reviewed? Anyway, I am pro-dad in this case! You kick those bullies asses and give them an extra swat in the back of the head for me big guy!


http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39232388/ns/today-parenting/

I'm Getting Married!

So I am so excited to say that I am getting married next April! Oh yes it is quite a new and exciting thing as I have never been married before and this is all a new and fun thing to involve myself in. So when I began planning my wedding my thoughts were that I would buy a wedding dress, pick a place and things would just, sort of, fall together. Oh no... this is not at all what planning a wedding is all about! Planning a wedding is not pure fun and elation. Planning a wedding is dissecting through thousands of mindless details from napkins to candles to caterers to officiants, etc. There is never an end in sight! I have been head strong in planning for two months now and feel as though I have barely tipped the iceberg.



My loving and kind fiance as so graciously decided that I should take control of this entire wedding project and utilize him as an "as needed" consultant. He said, "Well, I just know how much you want to do this yourself dear and I want this to be your perfect day. I know you will make it so wonderful, baby." What he was REALLY saying was "Baby, I realize that this is going to be a cluster fuck in which I do not wish to involve myself. Get it together, tell me when and where, and I will be there." Well... thanks so much babe, for the support! In reality it is probably better that I plan the wedding, so I will let this one slide.

I can only imagine what lies ahead as things begin to move more quickly toward the big day. I love it! I love it! I love it!