Sarah Palin in Haiti - Looking for Purpose

This weekend, my inbox was filled with much news from Haiti.

Protests. Airport closing. Children dying of cholera. I was even sent the horrifying video of a man being shot point blank in the head.

I bet what you heard from Haiti was that Sarah Palin visited.

I'm not a fan, but I wanted to give her a chance. Even though she chose to go with a man who has denounced Islam, I tried to maintain some hope. She has a lot of followers. If she could get those masses to donate to groups doing good work, then her visit had a point.

 Instead she fulfilled the expectations of most of my friends. She became what my friends in Haiti call a "disaster tourist". Get some photos. Let a couple kids touch your hand.

She held a press conference, of course. But did she call on the United States to live up to it's promise of aid? Nope. Did she provide a place where donations could go directly to NGOs working there? Nope. She didn't even give the assembled press the chance to ask questions about vague claims she made about aid being discontinued.

As much I hate it, Sarah Palin has power. She could be getting aid to Haiti. She could be organizing young volunteers. Instead she spent a weekend playing disaster tourist. I hope she got great photos.

What's Gay Marriage Got To Do With You?

"Everybody's out to get me but I feel alright/Because everybody's thinking about me."

- Jim Infantino

image courtesty of www.manolobrides.com

I've said before that I'm fairly liberal, but I do understand many conservative positions. For example, while I disagree, I can understand that pro-life people feel that they are preventing murder. I really do get it. I have also had a friend who needed to end her pregnancy at week 12-1/2 because the fetus had a condition that wouldn't allow it to develop a brain, resulting in a 0% chance of life outside her body. Ending that pregnancy devastated her. It wasn't convenience. It was what needed to happen and the law of the land shouldn't have made it harder on her.

Despite my strong feelings, I do understand that pro-life position.

However, I don't understand the problem with Same-Sex Marriage.

I listen to arguments like it hurts the the institution of marriage. I think cheating hurts the institution of marriage. I think inability to communicate to your partner hurts the institution of marriage. I could even make an argument that The Bachelor hurts the institution of marriage. But how do the gays hurt it? More committed people demonstrating great partnerships seems only beneficial to me.

Then there's the argument that it would cost small businesses money because of health insurance for spouses. Wouldn't anyone getting married cost them money? I'm finding it hard to believe that businesses are making a practice of hiring gays because it keeps health insurance premiums low.

In fact, I think more people getting married would put some additional money in city coffers as they apply for licenses and have ceremonies performed. Not to mention the additional revenue for caterers, tux rentals, photographers. Weddings are big business.

At the end of the day, I am for same-sex marriage because I believe people should all have the same freedoms. A couple of gals sharing a bed and a life isn't killing anyone. It's not even costing anyone money.

Even Don't Ask, Don't Tell (which should be repealed now, by the way) has some almost legitimate concerns. You don't want distrust and disharmony on the battlefield. Although I argue that asking people to lie is where distrust starts, I can see reason to at least consider this objection.

But where is the harm of legalizing marriage for the couple down the street?

If your marriage is being hurt by the relationships of people you don't even know, it's not the gays causing your problems. It's you.