It is a Big Gay Day

If you follow the blog you'll know that I'm a libertarian leaning conservative that believes that homosexuals deserve the same right to have the government out of their life as us poor dressing straight boys and I have written as such before.

I think many more conservatives agree with this position than care to admit. Especially conservatives that are in their 40's and younger. To most of us we see it as a civil rights issue and one our party has been on the wrong side of for way too long.

I thought it was very courageous for some Republicans to vote their heart and allow DADT to come to a vote and pass. I thought it was a good day for the President and he offered a decent speech today prior to the signing. I took time to watch it because I thought it was another important moment in our civil rights history.

Anyway......

So, how do I respond today to my gay friends? Do I say congrats? I seems weird. None of them are in the military. Did people in 1964 go up to black people and say...."Hey, Congrats on the big win, you are now equal?"

In 1920 did dudes tell chicas, "Hey congrats on the 19th amendment passing. I know it only took us 70 years to decide you were smart enough to vote"? I kinda doubt it.

But I kinda feel like it should be recognized with people who have fought for it for the past 20 years. Not sure what to say.

I have gay friends. I guess I'll figure it out when I see them.

Shocker!

It may be where the Libertarian in me diverges from the Conservative Republican in me but I actually basically agree with President Obama on the Islamic Center and Mosque near ground zero. I'm in the minority. It is reported that 68% of the people disagree with the President.

Either you believe in religious freedom or you don't. Either you believe in the Constitution (hello Tea Party people) or you don't. It makes you look stupid to have situational ethics on it. How can someone with a straight face call for stricter interpretation of the Constitution and then say these Americans don't have a right to build religious facilities where other Americans are allowed to build their religious facilities? It might not make me popular.....but I think Muslims have a right to follow a false god and a false doctrine if they want. In short, they have the right to be wrong.

If you asked me if I think it is considerate and appropriate to build it there......well, no. I'd prefer they not.

My Christian brethren, I believe, don't really believe in religious freedom. They believe in religious freedom only as it relates to them getting what they want. They are lazy. Hands and feet people NOT mouths. Hands and feet.

Rita Moreno is awesome!

I'll follow up this post with my best and worst wines of the week but I had to comment on last night.

We had the privilege of attending the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Awards Ceremony and Gala last night. First, it was at Starlight......and no it wasn't outside like one reader thought. It was on the stage which was closed off and heated. It was a cool venue for an event.

Anyway, the event was nice but the special guest was Rita Moreno. What an amazing woman!

She told us her story which probably isn't all that uncommon of coming to the United States from Puerto Rico. She talked about how she worked around the stereotype of being a Latina in Hollywood and how she overcame it and paved the way for lots of people that have come since. This woman......at 78 years old had lots of energy and really looked amazing! I mean truly she was beautiful and it doesn't look like she "had work" done. She has been married to the same man her whole life and she still works.......she played a nun/psychologist on the HBO show Oz most recently. They introduced her with a collection of clips of her work which was incredible. She is amazingly talented and you can tell a consummate pro. I also didn't realize how much she means to the Hispanic community in show business. She is their Jackie Robinson or Curt Flood.


I'm telling you. This woman blew me away. She was so friendly, so funny and so appreciative of her life. I had the chance to speak with her briefly and I thought she was incredibly genuine. It was refreshing to see. I lamely took a picture with my cell phone while she was giving her speech.

There were a few but not many gringos in the room last night and when she mentioned President Obama I expected the room to erupt but it was faint applause showing me as a bunch of small business owners you can't say all Hispanics support him. Not. Even. Close. However, the mention of Justice Sotomayor brought the thunderous applause. Appropriate for sure.

This one guy, a gringo I might add, made a gratuitous comment about immigration reform that was rewarded with lots of clapping and hoots. That one still baffles me. You can tell these people are incredibly proud to be Americans and proud to be here and to contribute. I'll never understand why we look like bad people for controlling the sovereignty of our borders. Every other country does it. We welcome all. It is who we are but I'll never understand why it is okay to break the law and sneak in and why I'm a racist for being against it.

Anyway, it was a good night and I felt blessed to be there and see it.