Andrew Q Gordon

EH, Thanks Mark but I just read a lot of stuff. Here is another example of what I meant by they sue to make money- and a reason I don't hate Bill O'Reily anymore: My link Basically they won attorney fees and they are their own attorneys. Sorry it took me a while to find the right story.

For those who don't know, Fred Phelps and most of his congregation/family as they are almost one and the same - are mostly lawyers - they sue the crap out of towns, and people and organizations for 'violating their free speech.' It is how they support themselves. These demonstrations are designed to stir up controversy and hopefully a law suit. What happened at Gunn, aside from the amazing show of support against hate speech and the like, is an effective way to fire back at the Phelps and his ilk - it denies them any ability to use the situation for their advantage. Go Gunn and all those future leaders of the country.

Eric, Welcome to the all Apple family. Lord if I knew what a ride it would be, I would have sold my car and ate 'mac' and cheese for a year to load up Apple stock when the iPod came out. My best friend is a huge techie - owns a Bang and Olufsen franchise - told me 8 years ago to go with Macs only - it took me a few years to get what he was saying - You get what you pay for - Bought my first iBook 5 years a go when I got fed up with my Dell laptop - after 5 times sending it back I ended up slamming my fist on the key board necessitating a new laptop. :mace: My friend went to the Apple Store with me to get the new iBook. That lasted 4 years with only a new battery to buy in that time. When the desk top died, we bought a Mac Mini and followed by iPhones for both of us. Last year I bought the new MacBook Pro in aluminum to get a dual-core processor on my laptop. I did have an issue last weekend with the touch pad on my MacBook, so I made the appt with the Apple store and the dude at the Genius Bar immediately knew the problem. He fixed it on the spot - needed a new glass piece under the tracking pad. 45 minutes later I was out the door, problem solved. So yeah I am with you on sticking with Apple - so long as they don't forget that it is quality over quantity that got them this far. If they start working for 'market share' their quality will suffer and then their price point won't be justified anymore. Let's hope they don't forget what makes us stick with Apple despite the price. Now if only I could still buy Apple stock for $7.00 a share.

Great Choice PT - haven't thought about that song in YEARS! Sad part is I remember when it came out. Hell I feel old today. :wacko:

This one is always a good mood maker for me. That and I had a HUGE crush on Keith Strickland when I was in college. [He is the guitar player not the singer - not into Fred ]

Not sure I want to change my entry but I would like to add a second if I might. Always thought Social D was underrated and under loved - then again I always though Mike Ness was one hot badass - before Heroin almost ruined his life and career.

CJ Thanks. Your comments are not too far from my thinking. In a perfect world I could see myself living in the west in a small town, or buy a ranch or something. But your suggestion of artist colony is a good one. In Maryland, the town of Easton has started to revive itself as an artist colony of sorts. They have an art school and a lot of artists seem to be going there. The county where Easton is located - Talbot - only has 35K people. One of the People Running for State Senate there is an openly gay man and he has the support of the local Dem Party. Clearly they are not lynching the gays there and one of the reasons is the influx of artists and like minded people - so your suggestion is a good one to add to the list to be considered.. Thanks Andy

Jon, Was actually in Chestertown on Friday, very cool town, small for sure but nice. I really like the Eastern Shore, most folks couldn't care less if you are gay or not, seems there are more than a few in St. Michaels/Easton/Oxford as well as Chestertown. The issue is work - for me, the BF works at home, and schools. We are still exploring a ton so no decision is close. Thanks for the input, appreciate it. Andy

Unforgiven [well Unforgiven II is a better song but either works ] Unforgiven II

Mark, To be clear, moving to VA was the BF's recommendation, I always thought it would be unfriendly - but Arlington was different, they elected an openly gay county commissioner, passed domestic partnership benefits for county employees [the state over turned those somehow], and by and large the county and immediate area was generally very gay friendly. So we were a bit surprised - though in hindsight we shouldn't have been - when they state passed the Amendment. But even if we were not surprised, we were still angry - probably irrational given the circumstances but we voted with our feet and are not unhappy we did.

This post sort of morphed into recommendations vs. what people think the merits of either are but its all good. Tim - I am barely willing to set foot in Virginia and will NEVER live there again. I lived in Arlington - a wonderful place to live if you are straight - but we moved when VA passed the constitutional amendment saying gays are second class citizens in the "great' commonwealth of hate - er - Virginia. Sorry if this sounds angry, it is not directed at you by no means, but lord I have a deep anger with VA and it's voters. Annapolis is nice, as is the Eastern Shore, some great small towns on the other side of the Bay

Lived there for a time, won't say where exactly but I could walk to campus to watch the Cats play as a kid. My brother is in Delco so I know the area well. We are definitely considering moving back but want to explore other options. You have no idea - and Alexandria isn't the most expensive place either. Our old house on Cap hill in a transitioning area that was 9 rooms big - plus 2.5 bathrooms - just sold for 800K - crazy talk I know. :wacko: Thanks for the input, we never thought too much able Delaware, but it is something to consider.

Thanks for this - it is really very helpful keeping in mind the views of those younger than we are. What we might think is so great might end up hell for the kids. Oh and what's with the change of name? Change of scenery?

rather not discuss budget on a public forum, but assume we r not buying a McMansion nor r we living in a trailer. Living in DC we shouldn't be priced out of many areas.

Small towns, even in accepting places/state tend to be way more conservative and less accepting. I know this from personal experience. The more rural a place, the less accepting of gay people they tend to be. Totally a generalization but there is some validity in them as well. Depends on where you go. There are not many big box stores on Maryland' Eastern Shore for example but they are everywhere in the Mid to Western rural areas. Any move won't happen until after they are born but before school starts if we decide to move. All good points but I think schools don't improve near as much unless demographics change. Engaged parents lead to better students and school That kind of change takes decades not years. On the other hand, as you suggest, smaller school district would have few resources and few opportunities. In other words there are no easy answers Thanks for weighing in, you do raise things we didn't think about. Andy

I am not sure where you are talking about but I am looking at towns an hour or so from DC or Philly that keep their small town feel but are close enough to civilization. That said, you raise a valid point. One of the other options we are exploring is just what you suggest, a smallish city somewhere, preferably one with a large university. At the risk of sounding too much like a snobby prick, summer/part time work won't be a consideration in that we have the means to make up for any lack of employment if it means a better childhood/school experience. Thanks for weighing in, your perspective is now factored in the equation.

For me, and well us, the whole small town feel, walk down main street, know the shop keepers, know you neighbors, slow pace of life - are all attractive, That and small towns are less prone to the same high crime that any city has - it is more an economic issue really. Small towns lack good - if any - public transportation, making it harder for people to move without a job and/or transportation. It limits growth and/or migration keeping things more stable. That is just my 'un-edumacted' opinion. That and I grew up in a small town, where I rode my bike to the corner deli, walked to school, played basketball until dark on the street, ran around with my friends without my parents worried about where we were or what might happen to us. So it brings back good memories that I probably can't recreate for my kids no matter how I try, but still want to try.

James, I remember distinctly when I left the Republican Party - it was the 1992 Presidential Election. I grew up a GOP, my folks were, my family was, it was what we did. Back then the issue wasn't Family Values, it was as you put it focus on the country. Reagan's rise to popularity was based in no small part because he was unapologetic about being an American and made folks feel good about our country. In 1992 - Bush and Quayle began as you pointed the focus on family values. I remember listening to their convention and wondering how there didn't appear to be a place for me in their definition of Family Values. A friend of mine went to the convention and told a newspaper how he booed as loud as he could when they starting bashing gays - overtly or covertly. He left the party soon after as well. Unless and until the GOP moves away from this assault on Social Acceptance, they will continue to bleed voters. All one had to do was look at the GOP convention in Minneapolis in 2008. It looked like a rally at a retirement home. My niece - also raised by a republican family, cast her very first vote for the Democrats, why? Because she was tired of them bashing people like her uncle - me. [she was always near and dear to me but never more than when she told me that.] So yeah WTF happened that the bedroom dominates politics more than issues? IDK. I have no answer. Andy

For those of you who read my blog, you know the partner and I are trying to have a kid - with a bit of luck we will know next Friday if the surrogate is pregnant. With that in mind, we are using our vacations to check out different place to live. There is nothing wrong with the DC area if you like high crime, too much congestion, high cost of living and hit or miss schools. [in fairness there are a lot of good things to recommend it, VERY accepting, great cultural events, good amenities, many interesting sites, good employment opportunities among other things]. Our biggest issues are schools, safe environment and acceptance. On the one hand, we would not be the only same sex couple in our area - not even on our street for that matter. Our kid might be the only in their class to have two dads [or two moms] but they wouldn't be the only person they knew. The level of acceptance is very high where we live. Unfortunately the school system is sub-par after elementary school. There is NO way in hell I will send my kid to the middle school and high school in our boundaries. Then there is the level of gang activity, crime, and assaults in the area. It is not an easy place for a kid to navigate - certainly not impossible by any means, but not the experience our parents gave me and my other half. Looking at small towns, they have few of the negatives our metro area has but we worry about the lack of acceptance. The less urban, the less chance they have experienced a small sex couple with kids. It's hard enough being a kid with adding being harassed for being the one with two gay dads. Before we can move anywhere, we need to see where we are going. So we are undertaking the 'Great Investigation' across America to find the right place to move. Anyone have any experience either as a same sex couple with kids or the friend of someone with same sex parents? Or just have an opinion on the issue [i am sure there are a few of you out there.] Thanks Andy

I was going to take the opposite side for balance, but I don't even want to use 'girl friend,' 'miss thing,' 'girl!' or any of the other 'names' we get called by our friends. So I have to go on the side of 100% with you here. Though I hope "booty' is still acceptable.

Mark, At the risk of needing my frame retardant suit, I agree with you in principle that we can't put different stamps on the same conduct. Intolerance is intolerance but as I posted on someone else's blog - how do you make nice with people trying to kill you? I don't think it is a stretch to say we don't need to like Fred Phelps or his ilk. I think I am allowed to really dislike him - a lot. You are right to say we can't sweep a whole group and say we hate you - but I am not sure I can't do that when said group says 'I hate you and want to kill you." I don't hate muslims, just as I don't hate christians, but I don't have any use or tolerance for those who spew hate and advocate hurting others just to forward their agenda. The problem is if you belong to the larger group - Muslims, Christians, whatever, and you don't stand up against said hate and violence, why shouldn't I think you are part of it? As one Radio Pastor is fond of saying in our area - "Not a sermon, just a thought." Ok, got my suit on, blast away human torch.

Agree or disagree, that was an awesome post - great use of the pictures. If I hear you right, I agree with you -we don't want to make nice with our enemies - the problem is who are our enemies - I knew this boy since he was 12 American Terrorist he was twisted by the mosque he joined. How do you make nice with that?

Damn, I am the odd freak out - just one, and half the time i end up sharing it with the bf.

I would that it was something witty and amazing insightful like some - [Nephylim you amaze me more and more with everything you write!] Quonus was a character - a not so nice one [really evil actually] - in short story I wrote for a class. 10 is 2010 - as if ANYONE else was going to Use Quonus that I needed to add number right? I wanted it to be fairly anonymous on account of work - not that I should worry too much, I doubt the criminals I lock up read this site but still. Andy