Nicki found these video clips from Gavin the other day on her digital camera. I combined the two for Gavin’s first episode of G TV. Apparently, when we are not around he feels liberated to video whatever is on his mind. This may be fun in years to come?! 🙂
Update on My Grandpa Carnes
Thank you, to everyone who has been praying for my Grandpa Carnes, who fell down his basement steps last Thursday night (April 23) and broke his neck.
I went to visit him in the ICU on Saturday in Atlanta. He looked a lot better than what I was expecting. I was thinking he would be bruised up pretty bad, looking as if he just came out of a fight with Rocky…and lost. He did have a huge gash in his head, beginning at the crown and going down towards his neck. It was split open pretty bad in the fall, so bad it required staples to close it up. I did not see bruises anywhere. Besides his head and his neck the only visible sign of damage that I could see was his hand wrapped in gauze from where he banged it up pretty bad.
In total he fell down 20 steps to the bottom concrete floor. One step is completely broken from the impact while the bottom step is covered in blood from his head. I believe they are going to be boarding that door up or padlocking it shut. Yesterday, the doctor gave a better than expected report. It is a total miracle that he is alive, much less that he did not break anything else in the fall. If the break was one space higher, he would have been paralyzed, or he would have required a trach to breathe the rest of his life. They are not going to do surgery (most likely due to age), rather they are going to leave him in the neck brace to heal and issue him a walker to prevent him from falling and doing more damage. The area that is broken is still very dangerous, if it fractures any further and cuts the spinal cord, he still could be paralyzed. He will still be in the hospital to recover for a little while, it will be interesting to see if he obeys the doctor and uses the walker when they let him go home. As for now, I believe they still have him in ICU.
Please continue to pray for him and for my Grandma. It is already difficult caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, but now, she has to keep very close tabs on him and help him prevent any additional damage to his head and neck area. I’ll update you all here on the blog if anything changes.
What If Carrie Prejean Supported Gay Marriage?
We often get caught up debating issues and we forget to ask the right questions. Yesterday, I expressed my support for Miss. California, Carrie Prejean in THIS post. However, as I’ve thought on the situation over and over again, I cannot help but to ask the question to all of us, no matter what our sexual orientation, our religious preference, our race, or our personal backgrounds; “What If Carrie Prejean Supported Gay Marriage?” – I truly believe it is the question that is not being asked and it contains the answer that many people don’t want to focus on, especially the gay marriage activists.
Of course this is solely my opinion. Miss. California, Carrie Prejean, does not support gay marriage and her stance cost her the crown. However, I believe that we would be looking at a totally different story if she did support gay marraige.
What If She’d Said ‘YES’?
If Carrie Prejean said that she supported gay marriage, she would have become an immediate hero and hailed as a star by those who are pressing hard to change America’s laws in favor of their ideals. There is no question in my mind that Carrie would have won the Miss. USA pageant because she would have won the acceptance of the judges who favor gay marriage. Several of the judges said that in between the show’s break they shared their disapproval for Carrie’s answer, therefore they had already decided who their winner was going to be. However, if Carrie would have answered as they wanted, she would have immediately become the poster child for gay marriage rights in America.
Why Is California So Important?
We can debate all day long whether or not anyone knew that Miss. California was going to get asked the ‘gay marriage’ question. For me, there are too many questions surrounding the issue. In November, California’s citizens decided they wanted to define marriage between a man and a woman through their constitution. Gay rights activists did not like the decision and immediately went on a campaign to destroy all of the organizations and churches that stood strong for what they believed in and encouraged individuals to do so as well. Perez Hilton is from California and he is a gay man who opposed proposition 8 and speaks out in favor of gay marriage. I find it weird that he had the opportunity to ask the gay question to the representative of California, which was at the very center of the proposition 8 fiasco. In the interview by the today show, Perez said, “I expected her to be prepared ESPECIALLY, since she is Miss. California, the state that just passed prop 8. (See Video HERE) I truly believe that people like Perez Hilton live in La-La Land and truly believe that everyone believes and thinks like him, minus a few weird people. It would have been a huge victory for gay marriage activists if Miss. California supported their ideals on the stage of the Miss. USA pageant. Perez Hilton and the judges that support gay marriage wanted and needed Carrie Prejean to support their cause. Instead, she solidified that they are still losing the battle to change marriage. She solidified the the support of traditional marriage that a majority of Californians voted on in November. She also solidified that their ideals are still in the minority in America.
The BIG Double Standard
A lot of the people who have spoken out in opposition to Carrie had to soften up, yes, even the self proclaimed queen of media, Perez Hilton. Over the last couple of days they’ve said that Carrie lost because she took too specific of a stance in her answer, she should have been more middle of the road. Shanna Moakler said, “in my eyes, [she] simply made the question more personal then it needed to be…” Claudia Jordan, a former Miss. USA and a judge from this year’s competition said, “Its best to give a neutral answer.” Claudia went on to say that “The judges were really against her, they didn’t like her answer.” Perez Hilton said, “I was hoping she’d gave a better answer…the answer she gave alienated gays…” Perez went on to say Miss. USA needs to be “political savvy” and not “politically incorrect.”
Oh really? The BIG double standard lies here. Would Carrie Prejean be facing the same attacks, the same outrage, and the same scrutiny right now if she would have said, “Yes, I support gay marriage and believe that all other states should follow Vermont’s lead.” Perez Hilton’s question wasn’t even politically correct. When asking the question, it was done in a way to praise “rights given to gay Americans” and should other states follow suit. He didn’t ask “Should all states decide issues such as gay marriage, abortion, etc?” However, because Carrie answered specifically, she gets accused of alienating a group of people. Would Perez have gotten angry and mad had Carrie supported gay marriage and declared that she was not the Right person for Miss. USA because she alienated all Conservatives, the Christians, and even the gays who do not support gay marriage? Would he have been my night in shining armor as she shared her beliefs and alienated me? Mr. Hilton, Ms. Moakler, Ms. Jordan, would you have demanded a more neutral answer or a more middle of the road answer if she supported your ideals?
UPDATE: This story was just posted to Fox News further illustrating other contestants’ view that Miss. California should have been more “politically correct” – however, it also further illustrates my point of a double standard. In their interviews they are speaking out on behalf of gay marriage which is not politically correct if there is a segment of people (a majority of people), who oppose same sex marriage. Are they not doing the very thing they accuse Miss. California of doing? Alienating people?
The Enigma
Carrie Prejean is now being treated like an Enigma. Hollywood came out and land blasted her. The media is trying to paint her as someone who is out of touch. Other activists are trying to present her as someone who does not represent her generation. Here’s the facts that they don’t want you to believe or understand. If you believe in traditional marriage, between one man and one woman as described in the Bible, you are the majority. However, you would not think so based on the media coverage and the noise coming out of Hollywood. For every report given on this story, you will see outrage by 8 people and one person defending what Carrie did. The attempt is to make you feel as if you are an enigma in your beliefs and in your standards. Who wants to feel like they are standing alone? Who wants to feel like they are out of touch and strange? Some of us don’t mind, but others do, especially the younger generation. Many of whom will not go to school and among their peers and take strong stances like Carrie did. The gay marriage activists want to hit this issues so hard, that people give in, simply so they are not labeled an extremist, a bigot, or any other name they throw at us. I wonder how many pageant candidates, judges, and even Hollywood stars there are who are verbally telling these activists what they want to hear but in the privacy of a voting booth, voting their concise and their beliefs?
Perez Hilton went around the other day, asking individual stars on Twitter if they supported gay marriage. Some responded while others did not. Do you really believe after watching his tirade online, hearing his attacks, and watching others devour Carrie, that another young star would throw their head on the chopping block and say that they did not support gay marriage? Its like seeing a pool full of paranas and offering to jump in.
President Barack Obama
Why wasn’t the same outrage and attacks levied against President Barack Obama when he sat on Saddleback’s stage in Lake Forest, California and verbally affirmed that he believes marriage is between a man and a woman? (See Video Below) Where was Perez Hilton then? Did the Hollywood President not alienate all of the gay marriage activists, their friends, and their families? Where was Shanna Moakler disgusted at this man? Where was Claudia Jordan requesting a neutral answer? Why is Carrie having to carry a load from the very individuals and groups that gave the President a pass?
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is this. We get caught up in the debate and we don’t ask the right questions. What if Carrie Prejean supported gay marriage? There would not be the same outrage. Sure Christians would be disappointed, but we would not have threatened to run on stage and steal her tiara. The gay marriage activists are revealing their true intolerance. I don’t think gay marriage is about rights because they have all the rights we have as individuals. Its about taking something away that is sacred. There is no doubt in my mind, the gay marriage activists would have loved to have had this young, Christian, woman to be their Miss. USA in support of gay marriage. It would have been one more bullet in their arsenal to paint Christians who oppose gay marriage as old, out of touch, and irrelevant. Thankfully, there is one young lady who has delighted herself in the Lord, and has character, integrity, and values, and did not allow herself to become a pawn against Christians and others who stand for strong morals and principles.
I Support Miss California Carrie Prejean
…And so should every American, whether you are gay, straight, white, black, asian, or indian, etc…
Miss. California, Carrie Prejean, was asked for her view regarding gay marriage, and if Vermont’s legalizing it should be followed by all other states in the US. What good is asking a question if you don’t want to know a person’s answer? And what good is it to seek a person’s opinion, if you really don’t want an opinion besides your own? Apparently, the judges at the Miss. USA pageant were looking for ‘Yes people’ and conformists, not people who are true to their values, principles, and beliefs.
Everyone who lives under the banner of the Red, White, and Blue has not only the freedom of speech, but the freedom of opinion. Just as a gay American who wants to speak out and express their opinion about being granted the ability to marry should not be demonized and attacked for their views, Carrie should be granted the same rights and freedoms. Our culture touts the banner of tolerance and then has the nerve to point the finger at the Christian church and call them hypocrites when one of its leaders or members fall in the public eye, due to their mere humanity. Yet, those carrying the banner of tolerance are the biggest hypocrites when it comes to being tolerant for issues that aren’t their own. If we are going to point a finger at all of the hypocrites its not a one way street. Trust me we are all hypocirtes in one form or fashion, but some want to make their hypocrisy less than others.
Equal, Really?
Gay rights activists are yelling for “Equal Rights” as if a hospital won’t treat them because they are gay or as if they cannot buy a car because they are gay. That’s totally wrong. Every American is given the same rights despite their sexual orientation. However, Miss. California was not given equal rights, an equal platform, or an equal opportunity. Carrie Prejean, had an equal opportunity to win up until controversial blogger and judge Perez Hilton asked the now famous question about Gay Marriage. Though Perez does not have to reveal his score for that question, he clearly stated that “The way miss California answered her question lost her the crown, without a doubt!” Perez also called Carrie a dumb Bi*** and the C-word. We’ll get to Mr. Perez a little more shortly…Shanna Moakler, the director of the Miss. California pageant, and rumored friend of Carrie Prejean, not only snubbed her “friend” after the show, but vented her frustration on Twitter, her Myspace page, and through public statements. She tweeted,” This is why we have judges at Miss USA, so we find the girl to rep us ALL,” – I’ll get back to that statement as well, Shanna also said, “I don’t know how you can call a gay man or woman your friend and not want them 2 have the same joys as yourself. In my family we believe in equal rights for all, I am sad and hurt, I agree with Perez 100 [percent]. It’s one thing to have an opinion I am very opinionated n have dealt with backlash from it, it’s another to alienate people who cared about u.”
So it’s okay for gay American’s to yell their opinions for “equal rights” and we’ve all seen their protests in favor of gay marriage as well as in opposition of proposition 8. They can spew their venom against the protestant church, the Catholic church, and the Mormon church, they can call us hatemongers and bigots, and resort to personal attacks, but one young lady cannot answer a question honestly and politely without being attacked and demonized. I think people in Hollywood and in the media need to look up the definition of equal.
Perez Hilton
I just have to ask…Why is the Miss. USA pageant allowing someone like Perez Hilton to serve as a judge? Have you read his blog? He is highly controversial, he is offensive, he is derogatory, and very crude towards people he does not like. Hey Shanna, does Perez represent us ALL? No, he does not. Does he even represent the best of America? No, he does not. I could care less whether he is gay, Latino, or whatever other title he wants to give himself. He is a horrible selection as a judge.
Since when are pageant judges supposed to leave the panel from the show and call the contestants, “dumb bi***” the c-word and then go attack their family? It’s a disgrace and the Miss. USA pageant should be more embarrassed for having put him in the spotlight than for one of their contestants to answer a question honestly and boldly.
You Cannot Represent Us ALL
Dear Shanna, I hate to break it to you but you cannot represent us all, and neither can one single Miss. USA Pageant winner. A single President cannot represent us all. What you have done however is alienate the entire Christian community, you alienated everyone who opposes gay marriage, as well as the gay Americans who oppose it. I mean, really? Do you think ONE person can represent ALL Americans? Do you want ONE person to represent ALL Americans? If so, you are looking for a flaky, spineless, person with no principles and no values. You are looking for someone who will say anything to please anyone, but will contradict themselves to please another crowd. It truly sounds like you are looking for a politician, not an individual. I’d love to know how one person can represent us ALL? How is Miss. North Carolina going to represent us all? Does she support gay marriage? Then she does not represent those of us who oppose it. Does she support allowing illegal immigrants the same rights as American citizens? If she does, she does not represent those of us who oppose it. Does she represent people who participate in illegal dog fighting? How about those who support Prostitution? I’d love to know how you expect to find someone to represent us ALL?
The Problem Is…
Most of the people who represent Hollywood, secularists, the media and the likes are pushing for conformity rather than individuality. People who support the actions that have been levied against Carrie Prejean are not looking for someone who acts based on their own beliefs. Because the people attacking have no backbone, they have no principles, and they have very little values, they want their friends and representatives to cave to their viewpoints as well. The call themselves progressive, non-conformists, rebels if you will, yet they all say the same things, they all believe the same way, and they all form their opinion not on conviction, but rather on the opinions of others around them. If this is not true, why all of the attacks on Carrie? If this is not true, why would Shanna Moakler not stand by her friend, politely say she disagrees and has a different opinion and view and agree to disagree? Rather, she attacked her “friend” through the media and through social networking, she did not stand beside her, and she is allowing her to be a target. That is not a friend, but its the very thing we are seeing in our culture. We are being taught to act in that very manner and to accept that very behavior. Sadly, many of you buy into that until it comes to bite you, because you one day decide to stand up for something. It goes beyond the issue of gay marriage, it seeps into other areas that affect our daily lives and our country. The only opinion you should have is the one they tell you to have. If you vary from that, you are an extremist, a bigot and a racist. In the video at the end of the post, you can hear Perez say that he expected Carrie to be “Prepared” for the question, and then he goes on to give the answer he wanted her to give. Bravo, to Matt Lauer for pressuring Perez on his answer!
The Christian Community
…is the target in this situation. Miss California, Carrie Prejean is just the current symbol that they are using. It’s no different than the political strategies derived from Solinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” where it is taught to “Pick your target, freeze it, personalize it, and then polarize it” in an attempt to destroy it. If you truly believe that this is solely an attack on Carrie, you are sadly mistaken. This is an attack on everyone who believes in the traditional definition and the Biblical definition and blueprint of marriage. It will be a horrible mistake if we decide to sit silently on the sideline and allow her to be targeted, frozen, and polarized in this issue. Moreover, we have an entire generation of young people who are watching and seeing how we as the Christian community respond, or how we do not respond. I’m NOT talking about anything that would come out of the Westboro Baptist Church (I totally disagree with them). We do not have to be militant, hateful, and obnoxious, just because they are. We do represent Christ and the love that He has for all people. Love however does not mean a blank check of support for anything & everything because someone attaches the word “rights” to it. It will however, in my opinion, be a huge mistake to make Carrie stand alone if we agree with her. I believe everyone attacking her is being so polarizing because they know she will not reverse course, but they want to scare anyone else from making the same stance. They want people to be intimidated and to be afraid to be treated in the same manner. Carrie Prejean is solid and she knows what she believes. She is a great picture of what I hope every student I ever worked with becomes. She understands what she believes and why she believes it, and so far, she is not allowing the attacks or the pressure to stop her. It is however a sad day when the likes of Britney Spears and Lyndsey Lohan are the poster children for our young people to model their lives after and young ladies like Carrie are demonized.
Check Carrie Prejean out on the Today Show from Tuesday, April 22, she boldly stands by her answer, Bravo!
Update: For those googling and trying to find Carrie Prejean’s church, you can go to their website HERE. From what I’ve heard she attends The Rock Church in San Diego. I am sure they are extremely proud of Carrie.
Meet My Mom
This is another great video that I found thanks to my sister, Jamela. Watch it and get a sneek peek at my mom. She’s a great lady who loves her kids dearly and has one purpose, to make sure we are well taken care of…and to make sure we drive safe 🙂 Well Blog world, here’s my mom!
I love you mom!