MMandM

I have insurance for just about everything, I'll have to check with my agent about this alien thingy

Happy birthday sweet 16, a very special birthday you'll always remember

Morgan wanted me to post that photo, although he didn't want me to crop off the underwear part, I refused, probably a good thing too

Believe it or not I was born at my parents home in Brentwood, CA. they didn

I think there's too much emphasis on looks in the Gay community, at least in my opinion. You would think we would have learned a thing or two about personality and character by now. I'm more of the liberal in viewing of people; I like all people, regardless of their national origin, culture, race, age, gender, fat, skinny, tall, short, handicap, young or older. What may turn me off is the way they treat other people or disrespect of others. I'm fortunate to have people I call friends in many places across this globe. Our family is made up of many cultures and races. I abhor discrimination of any kind. Was brought up in a large city where there is richness in diversity of people and cultures. When meeting people, for me, the connection is more with personalities than looks. Do we notice how people appear physically? Of course we do! However, it's the exchange of the spirit, which sustains, not the exterior facade. I'm not yet perfect, but I still haven't learned to walk on water. I know that day will never come, but I keep trying. Thoughts?

IMO at the core of a relationship is this commitment. It also meets needs that are a deep part of human nature. Couples, who are willing to make this deep commitment to each other and make the effort and sacrifice it takes to make it work, are rewarded with caring and passion and security and belonging and comfort all on a deep level. I like the commitment and the eternity and the depth and even the difficulties of it all. As foolish as it is, or may sound to some people, I love the fact that making a vow to love another human being for eternity. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yes indeed Mark, most states have passed laws with respect to rapists and their parental rights.

I've heard of the show before but have never seen an episode

This is what I call a slam dump case; I honestly didn't expect it to last all week but also didn't expect it to conclude today. Cases like this one are rare, unless of course the rapist is the son of a wealthy California businessman who is rich enough to pay for the best legal team money can buy, but a fool and his money will soon be departed. The court concluded today that when a child is conceived and born as the result of an unlawful sexual intercourse as defined in the code, the biological father shall not be permitted visitation. This does not violate constitutional principles. No court has held that the mere fact of biological fatherhood that was the result of a conception during a criminal act "felony" and that is unaccompanied by a relationship with the child, creates an interest that the United States Constitution protects in the name of liberty. He will pay (and have any pay he earns garnished by) the state and the state will provide the girl and the child with a monthly stipend. Not only will the rapist pay child support he will also pay for therapy for this girl. Daddy set up a nice little trust fun for his rapist son, even bought him a 600K condo in Corona Del Mar, of course we can't touch the condo since it's in daddy's name. Parental duties and rights are independent of each other. The parent's duty of support can be enforced even if the parent is denied the right to establish a relationship with the child through visitation. In this situation, the parental rights will still exist, but the rights were denied because the best interests of the child would be harmed if the rights were enforced. Forcing this girl to have recurring contact with her rapist would just be cruel and there are other and easier methods of achieving the end goal.

Yes sir, I've already learned not to argue with him lol

A 13-year-old girl went to a party with her older sister. At the party, the girl, was drugged and raped by a 21 year old man. The girl became pregnant and gave birth last December. Her mother is raising the child. In a plea deal, the rapist was convicted and ordered to serve 8 years and 4 months in prison, "which means he will most likely be released in five years", and ordered to pay child support supervised by his parole officer upon his release. The rapist's attorney is arguing his client should receive visitation privilege to his child upon his release. Every parent has a duty to support the children he/she creates. Even a rapist has a duty of support. Every parent has a right to establish a meaningful relationship with the children he/she creates. Every child has a right to establish a meaningful relationship with his/her parent. Accordingly, visitation with a non-custodial parent is PRESUMED to be in the best interests of the child. However, that presumption is not conclusive. It is rebuttal. If the rapist / father insists on visitation rights, compelling arguments can be made that it is NOT in the best interests of the child to establish a relationship with his/her mother's rapist. And that's what I come in, it will be a horrible week for the 13-year-old girl but it's my job to keep this man out of their lives forever.

No you don

I remember when I was a kid and wanted to read Mitchner's Hawaii, I guess I was really too young to know why, but it was considered a problem by librarians, because parents wanted to read the book, but didn't want the children to do so. The present approach is rather like having removed all fiction written after 1900 to assure that no child would be exposed to "salacious" material such as was alleged to be contained in Hawaii (I'll be damned if I could ever find any really good passages in that book never have figured out what the hoopla was). This also reminds me of Tipper Gore (whom I do not despise or belittle) and her battle against "objectionable" lyrics in popular music. The ultimate answer is parental participation. While under the age of 12, I never watched a minute of television without supervision, and usually with adults in the room watching the same programs. I could go to the library and browse, but if I returned home with books, I had to present them for inspection. Returning with no books would have resulted in a call to the librarian to know if I had checked out any books. My parents were not prudes, nor were they irresponsible about what we read and saw. There is something very wrong with the notion that books, music, television, films any form of public expression ought to be regulated to assure that a parent or guardian doesn't have to get off a dead, lazy rear end to actually participate in the child's experience of the world.

Interesting post with lots of things to consider. Loving and accepting myself first of all and recognizing that others love and accept me for who I am has always been hard for me. I know comparisons to others lead one to feel they're lacking in some way and I really do just need to be comfortable with who I am and stop trying to fit myself into some perception of the kind of person I think I should be. I do often wonder why my boyfriend chose me, as we are very different in terms of our personalities. But we complement each other well and I can honestly say I haven't been this happy in many years. Still, I sometimes have a hard time accepting that he could be so crazy about me, and yet he is! Aaaaagghhh - need to keep working on that self-esteem! So, I'll keep moving on, figuring out about me, but trying to accept that I'm already fine just the way I am.

A little late here but happy birthday Luc

Happy Birthday Marilyn My son Justin is buried about 20 feet from Marilyn's crypt in Westwood Memorial Park. Goodbye Norma Jean Though I never knew you at all You had the grace to hold yourself While those around you crawled They crawled out of the woodwork And they whispered into your brain They set you on the treadmill And they made you change your name And it seems to me you lived your life Like a candle in the wind Never knowing who to cling to When the rain set in And I would have liked to have known you But I was just a kid Your candle burned out long before Your legend ever did Loneliness was tough The toughest role you ever played Hollywood created a superstar And pain was the price you paid Even when you died Oh the press still hounded you All the papers had to say Was that Marilyn was found in the nude Goodbye Norma Jean From the young man in the 22nd row Who sees you as something as more than sexual More than just our Marilyn Monroe

Nope, I only look in the mirror to brush my teeth and shave. I don

Congratulations, I have a little less then 900 posts to go

Indeed Graeme , the constitution only provides a general framework for government; each generation is forced to reinterpret it. Our views regarding these constitutional concepts mature over time, and must accommodate societal changes. Our founding fathers were heavily influenced by the writings of John Locke with respect to natural rights and liberty. People were accustomed to being ruled by Kings and Kings claimed that they ruled by Devine Right. The King could do no wrong. In the mid-seventeenth century, it was certainly a radical and dangerous thing to preach that all men were created equal and that all men were born with inalienable rights (among those rights are the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness). So what makes a "right" inalienable? You have to simply recognize that individuals ought to have the right to freely do whatever makes them happy so long as they do not injure others (or infringe on other people's individual rights). A lot of people get caught up in specifics and semantics. As an example, some people might argue that the constitution does not specifically say that a man has the right to spit, so spitting is not a protected activity. Another example: Some people might argue that the constitution does not specifically say that an adult male has the right to engage in consensual sex with another adult male, therefore consensual sexual conduct between two adult males is not a protected activity. We can go on and on and on with examples, but that simply ignores the fact that the concept of "liberty" encompasses all human activity. Our government was formed to protect people, to secure their individual inalienable rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Government is not allowed to intrude into the private lives of its citizens because doing so chips away at their liberty interests. Government is not allowed to penalize individual conduct unless that conduct injures other people. Government does not GRANT rights, its purpose is to protect and secure the rights that all individuals possess by the simple virtue of being born. Government serves the people, not the other way around. Freedom of speech, especially political speech, is considered a "fundamental right." Nevertheless, the government can impose reasonable time, manner, and place restrictions on the right to speak. But, whenever the government restricts individual LIBERTY, the government must have a compelling interest in doing so and the means used must be necessary and narrowly tailored to serve that compelling interest. Throughout the existence of our country, our government has often crossed the line and has regulated and punished individual exercises of fundamental liberty interests. As we become more enlightened and advanced as a people, the errors are corrected. Sometimes it takes decades, even centuries, to correct errors.

The fact that the governing majority in a State has traditionally viewed a particular practice as immoral is not a sufficient reason for upholding a law prohibiting the practice. An interesting read. Lawrence v. Texas http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=02-102

Hehe, here is one for ya A man walks into a bar. He sees a good-looking, smartly dressed woman sitting on a barstool. He walks up behind her and says, "Hi there, how's it going?" Having already had a few drinks, she turns around, faces him, looks him straight in the eyes and says, "Listen! I'll screw anybody, anytime, anywhere, your place, my place, it doesn't matter." He says, "No kidding, I'm a lawyer too! What firm are you with?"

To be honest I rarely watch television. One of my hobbies is collecting DVD movies. I have over 500 now and I am also a member of Netflex, I have been able to see some great Gay movies through Netflex. I

That

I think most lawyers are pond scum. Present company excluded.

I never ask why me. Some straight men have been conditioned to think that seeing to guys kiss is the most disgusting thing in the world. Well I pity them but I won't stop living for the sake of anyone's sensibilities, specially when they turn around and bombard me with their own sexuality. I think a little self-reflection would not hurt. We all know how difficult and often frightening sex, love, dating can be. Now imagine that not only do you have to deal with the normal anxieties of rejection and not knowing just what to say. But for a gay man he also has to worry about social censure and in some cases if he makes a pass a non-gay man, possible violence. It must take some real courage to face all that, and still find someone to love. And if courage is not considered a classical 'manly' virtue I don't know what is.