I’m preparing to take my son camping today. After he gets out of class we’re heading for the hills for a few days of quality time, fishing and “roughing it”.

But if I have the time to do so while he’s still at school, I’m heading downtown to change my voter registration status. I’ve been a Republican since the day I turned 18 on December 23rd, 1991. I’ve voted the Republican Party line every single time the polls were open in Local, State and National races, with one exception: GWBs re-election campaign. But the time has come to change my affiliation.

I’m going to register Independent.

Why?

Because I am getting very sick of having my intelligence insulted.

This feeling first began, as I’ve pointed out before, when I realized that it was the Republicans who made abortion legal in this country, and yet they have the audacity to label Democrats Baby-Killers, using the abortion issue THEY BROUGHT TO US to win over the Christian vote. I am disappointed that I didn’t catch on to this sooner. I have no excuse for buying into the lie that the Republican Party is really Pro-Life.

George W. Bush’s last term… I can’t begin to put into words. If I began, I wouldn’t finish for a very long time.

And now the final straw has come: Sara Palin.

I love John McCain. He’s a hero for what he did for this country. But bluntly: he made a huge mistake when choosing his Vice Presidential Candidate. Yep, she’s fiery. And I really enjoyed listening to her speak this past Wednesday evening. She cracked me up with the zingers she threw out there. But the Center for Disease Control says the lifespan for the average American male is 77 years, which means at age 72, John McCain has an above-average chance of leaving this country in the hands of the candidate he chooses for Vice President, and here are a few things I do not appreciate when considering a VP that could become Commander in Chief of the most powerful country in the world:

About 20 months ago, Sara Palin was the part-time mayor of a town the size of Corning (for those of you outside the Northern California area, Corning has about 7,000 people). Based on this fact, I have much hope for my son’s mother. She, after all, was born and raised in a town of the same size. With all the people she knows, I bet she could get the votes needed to become part time mayor of her town, and then just a few years down the road, who knows? Maybe Vice President of the United States! Woo hoo! Go Wendy!

Sara Palin obtained her first passport just last year, when she wanted to visit Alaska’s troops in Iraq. Yes, in 2007. So the potential Commander in Chief, upon whom we must rely to interact on our behalf with all the other countries of the world, has ONLY been outside THIS country once? Just last year? HUH?

Sara Palin is now the Governor of a state who’s population is half the size of the population of Sacramento County. Since many of you don’t live in Northern California, pick a large city within driving distance of where you do live. I’d bet that city has a larger population than Sara Palin’s entire state. I’m not saying it’s not nifty that she’s a Governor, but I AM saying, quite clearly, that she is not ready to be the Leader of the Free World.

As for education, Sara Palin has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications-Journalism from the University of Idaho.

And we’re not even going to get into the investigation she’s currently under to see if she abused her power when she allegedly had a man fired because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s husband (whom the sister is divorcing).

The world laughs at us now with Dubya as our President. How much more will that be the case if our Commander in Chief comes with the credentials just listed?

I know stubborn. Believe me. I’m a very stubborn person. I “GET” the reasons some people just won’t leave the good ol’ Republican party no matter what. I get how some people will pretend they’re happy as can be with McCain’s choice for Vice President, following the Party wherever it may lead.

I get it.

But come on! Deep inside you’ve GOT to be insulted by this choice just as much as I am! Aren’t the red flags going off like crazy in your head? Don’t you start to feel like the Republicans just think we’ll stupidly fall for ANYTHING?

Don’t answer that. I don’t want to hear ya lie.

(please read the first comment to this post)

My friend David is a die-hard Republican. He has been quite distressed about my public declaration that I intend to vote for Barack Obama in November. After trying many different methods to make me “see the light”, he took the time today to write out an email, appealing to pure logic and reason.

His email was entitled:

A Logical Analysis

Here is what he wrote:

Okay, Donny, let’s work this out logically without a lot of emotion.

If you vote for Obama….

You get this…..

But if you vote for McCain….

You get this…

I don’t know about you, but looking at this in a logical manner, McCain appears to be the better candidate.

ANY QUESTIONS?

Well, now that it’s been put to me that way, how do I argue with his logic?

Heather Armstrong from Dooce.com is one of my favorite bloggers. I also “follow” her on Twitter. One of the applications on my iPhone is a program called Twitterific, which allows me to keep up with all of those I’ve chosen to “follow”.

This morning, while reading some recent “tweets”, I just HAD to share one with you. Below, you’ll find a screenshot of a conversation between Heather and her 4 year old daughter, Leta.

They grow up so fast these days!

No matter who wins, history will be made. If Barack Obama is elected we have our first African American President. If John McCain prevails we have our first female Vice President. Despite the differences in policy, when either of these two scenarios is made a reality our country wins. For some reason the thought of this really excites me.

As for Sarah Palin: who can’t help liking a person who practices what they preach? How often does that actually happen in politics? As I mentioned in a comment on my last post, my very good friend David Harter made me aware of this tidbit of information:

Palin’s strong pro-life views were highlighted earlier this year when she and her husband Todd were informed she was carrying a Down syndrome child but chose to carry through with the pregnancy.

“We’ve both been very vocal about being pro-life,” Palin told the Associated Press. “We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential.”

The day after the birth, the Palins said in a statement: “We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed.”

The child mentioned in that quote, by the way, was just born this past April. She has a newborn and is now running for Vice President? Can you say “wonder woman”?  Another of her children is in the Army, heading for Iraq.

Even though she’s caught up in the middle of an ethics investigation, I think Sarah Palin will bring over a lot of the Christian vote that otherwise wasn’t all that excited about John McCain. He made a pretty wise decision to ask her to run with him. Did she win me over? Oh man… dare I say it? No.  Guys, I still really like Obama. But there is plenty of time left for McCain and Palin to convince me to vote for them, and I fully intend to keep my mind open.

I will not be too disappointed if either candidate is elected. If I vote for one, and the other wins, I’ll still be proud to call the winner my President. What a great race, and what a great year!

I don’t care WHO you intend to vote for, you MUST watch Barack’s speech. Even if you’re dead set on voting for John McCain, at least hear what his opponent has to say.

This speech is fantastic. One of the best I’ve personally ever heard. Just watch it!

I edited this post because the full speech is now available in one file:

McCain has his work cut out for him…

GRAND. SLAM.

Donald Miller was asked to give the closing Benediction Monday night at the Democratic National Convention.  Here’s the prayer (around 1:44 into the video there is a 10 second silence for some reason):

Before the benediction was given, Don shared his thoughts with Christianity Today magazine.  I really enjoyed what he had to say:

Thoughts?

I’ve written before in regards to some of the personal costs I’ve paid for my life decisions. While I have no doubts I’m forgiven, I have a feeling, dear constant reader, that I’m going to continue to pay those bills for the rest of my life.

As I’ve traveled this amazing country I’ve had the opportunity to speak in front of crowds of as few as a couple of hundred to more than 20 thousand to who knows how many on Nightline ABC. I have to admit to you that I absolutely love speaking to people. It’s a rush. It’s better than sex, to be honest with ya, and it feeds my ego.

From those who have attended events in which I’ve spoken, I’ve received numerous messages of assurance that God is going to restore my marriage to Wendy. I’ve held onto those promises because they are exactly what I want to hear. I want to believe a restoration will happen. I want my amazing son to have both his father and mother in the same house again, waiting to help him with his algebra. I want to be the husband to the woman who moves my inner being more than any other, who has even defined the type of woman to whom I am attracted, both physically and emotionally. I want to prove to Wendy that I’m a different man than the one who ripped her heart out… that I’m worthy of her trust. I want to be an example of what a husband should be. I want to treat my wife like the princess she is in God’s eyes. I want to honor her.

But it appears that isn’t going to happen. God asks us to forgive those who have wronged us, but what he doesn’t ask is that we once again make ourselves vulnerable to those who have wronged us. For so long after surrendering my life to God I believed the words of those who said Wendy and I would be reunited. What I didn’t take into consideration, however, is the fact that free will is involved in such a scenario. And while there have been times when Wendy has mentioned the possibilities of reconciliation, it’s become very apparent that it’s just not gonna happen. She can forgive me, but she can’t give her heart to me again.

And who could possibly blame her? Did you read some of the things I’ve done to her? What I’ve shared doesn’t even scratch the surface.

I feel kinda sorry for any woman I might possibly date in the future. Whether fair or not, if there is a “next one” she will have to live up to Wendy, and that’s pretty hard to do. While she definitely wasn’t a perfect wife, Wendy is as close to a perfect mother as a person can get. My son is quite lucky.

After Wendy made it clear to me that the two of us would never be together again, and even though I haven’t written much about it, I’ve very casually “dated” a few women these last few years and have had conversations with a few others. And while in my mind I know that every one of us is unique, I have to tell you that the biggest turn off, for me, is when a woman is so desperate to find a “soul mate” that she’s willing to risk the happiness of her own children in order to pursue him. I don’t understand such nonsense. If a man even HINTS that he is not going to be okay with a single mother’s children, she needs to turn tail and run as fast as she can in the opposite direction. Anything less makes me want to puke. Believe me, dear constant reader, I’ve heard stories…

Side note: ladies, respect yourself! No matter how mysterious or attractive a man may seem, and no matter how much he proclaims to be a follower of Jesus the Christ, if he is not ready to be a daddy to your children he is not SHIT (pardon my french) to you and definitely not worth your time.

I was recently asked if I believe in the concept of soul mates. The answer, quite bluntly, is that I do not. The origin of such a concept is pagan, by most accounts beginning with Plato’s “Symposium”, and while the concept that there is one person in this really big world for each of us might seem “romantic” to some, it goes entirely against the concept of free will and couldn’t be further from the type of love I’ve seen referred to as a “true romance”.

After all, how romantic could it possibly be to love someone you’re somehow “destined” to love? That’s about as romantic as a dog scratching its fleas… it’s just something that must be done! I find it much more romantic to make a choice to love and then to be willing to put in the work required to make such a relationship last… a relationship based almost entirely on free will, just as God’s relationship is with us.  When you hear of a couple that has been together for 50 or more years, I seriously doubt everything between them has always been, as Forest Gump would say, “peas and carrots”. Making a human relationship last for that amount of time requires compromise, sacrifice, and CHOICE. And THAT, my dear constant reader, is what *I* find romantic!

Will I ever find such an opportunity again? I honestly don’t know the answer to that question. The more I interact with other humans, the less I believe such opportunities will present themselves. It seems that even Christians have chosen to compromise and believe the lies they’re asked to believe, sometimes being so bold as to call such compromise “God’s will”.

Despite the indications I’ve seen, I choose to believe something real and beautiful is possible and that beauty can indeed arise from ashes.

And until that beauty shows up, I’m happily going to allow my life to consist of being the best daddy I can to my boy, the best “ex” husband I can be to his mother, and the best Christ follower I can be, leaning heavily on God’s grace to help me overcome my “thorns in the flesh”.

What say you?

Back in July, my cousin Kristin dug up one of my High School Senior Pictures and posted the following comment on my MySpace profile:

Just moments ago, MT of X3, who has taken the photo Kristin posted and created the following “masterpiece”, posted it on my MySpace page with the caption “WERE THEY SEPARATED AT BIRTH OR ARE THEY REALLY ONE IN THE SAME?”:

(click to enlarge)

Let this be a lesson:
Photos given even to family members can come back to haunt you in the future.

(good thing Michelle has never been given a copy of that one photo where I’m wearing makeup after an Aerosmith concert…who knows WHAT she’d do with THAT ONE)

No matter how many times I’ve seen their story, Team Hoyt brings me to tears anytime I see video clips of them racing together.

Earlier today, MT of X3 emailed me a video of them. This isn’t the one she sent, but as it’s impossible to embed the one she sent on my blog I’ve found a comparable video on YouTube.

If you haven’t done so already, meet the Father of the Year All Time, and his Son (Dick and Rick Hoyt):

My heroes.

I’d rather not call anybody “whacked”, but it seems to me that the “God Hates Fags” people are about as close as one can get, and I don’t really know how to describe them any other way. These are the people who, amongst other things, picket the funerals of our soldiers. They receive a lot of media attention.

Craig Gross from XXXChurch interviews Shirley Phelps-Roper, the founder’s daughter.

The first several minutes of this podcast is a bunch of boring geek talk, but Shirley comes on to rile some feathers at the 14 minute mark (00:14:00). Enjoy! (or not)

[audio=http://donnysramblings.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/dirtysecrets99.mp3]

I was surprised to learn that many of those in the group have advanced degrees, several being working lawyers. Interesting…