Gay men and beauty contestants...

unless noted by actual quotes, all statements are paraphrased from the actual comments

So, Miss California (Carrie Prejean) is being alternately pilloried and praised. She was asked a question at the Miss USA pageant by gay activist and celebrity gossip Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. (aka, Perez Hilton, who takes his nickname and name for his blog from his friendship with noted heiress Paris Hilton). Several members of the audience didn't like her honest answer, and would have preferred a politically correct answer.

Mr. Lavandeira would have preferred that as well. When speaking to Larry King, he said that Miss USA should be politically correct, since she represents all of the US. His expected answer to his question about gay marriage was not what he received, and he was unhappy, as evident by a hate-filled video blog in which he called the contestant a "dumb bitch".

Personally, I think that her answer could have been a little more articulate, as many answers given at these events could be (does anyone even know what the question asked of Miss North Carolina was? I looked, but couldn't find a transcript or video).

Mr. Lavandeira said that he expected an answer that was weak, and said that it should be up to the states. However, it HAS been up to the states. Same-sex marriages have been voted DOWN in EVERY election they are brought up (the only exception I can find was a vote to amend the state constitution in Arizona). Same-sex marriage exists only because of decisions in the courts, rather than based upon the will of the people, CONTRARY to what Mr. Lavandeira says would be appropriate.

If left up to the states, as Mr. Lavandeira says it should be, recent history has shown that the states are more in line with Miss Prejean's opinion, nullifying his arguemnt that she would not represent American values.

Mr. Lavandeira should learn more about that which he speaks, before insulting someone with whom he disagrees. Contrary to what the gay rights movement in America would want you to think, gay marriage is NOT the law of the land, and has never been approved by the majority of the people.

California, the most liberal state of the union, approved at the ballot box by an overwhelming margin, to NOT allow same-sex marriage. This led to hate-filled diatribes by celebrities and protests that in other circumstances would have been termed hate crimes against religious groups that had little to nothing to do with the lack of approval in the state.

The judiciary across the nation has a problem. Too many are ignoring the will of the people in favor of special permissions and laws for a minority. In attempting to offer "equal protection", they are instead setting up an environment where "unequal rights" are being granted.

Let me be clear. I think that marriage is one man and one woman. This is not to say that I am against homosexuals expressing their love for one another, but it IS to say that marriage is something that is just not an option for them to do so. It comes down to something that sounds rather simplistic, but if you don't meet the requirements, you don't get to join the club.

How about this? I'll start referring to myself as a homosexual. I sleep with my wife, and am not attracted at all to men, but I am a homosexual.

You mean I can't do that? Because I don't meet the "requirements" set down to define something, I can't call myself that?

Hmm.... funny how it works when turned around, isn't it?

I really have a strange child...

My daughter, Sprout, in order to prevent me from eating the ears off her chocolate Easter Bunnies, has chomped all the ears off herself. Sort of the chocolate equivalent of "If I can't have them without worrying about them first, then NO ONE will!"

Problem is, I'm all talk when it comes to snarfing the ears off my kids' bunnies. Sally Forth I am not (read that comic for YEARS, and I just the other day got the double entendre in the name).

I'm more like Ted. And Sprout is becoming more and more like Hillary. We talk about subjects that are silly, while Wyfster (our Sally) sits in the background rolling her eyes. I'll give you an example.

I saw, for the first time the other day, a TV show on Spike TV called "Deadliest Warrior". The premise is simple. A group of 4 experts call in specialists in (mostly) archaic weapons and fighting styles. They take measurements of these weapons in use (speed of projectiles, force of a strike, penetration power, etc), add in information about the typical example of the specific warrior class (Samurai, Vikings, Apache warriors, etc) like height, weight, etc.

All this data is fed into a complex computer program that then takes the data, and runs 1000 simulations of a one-on-one combat between two of the warrior classes (Apache Warrior versus Roman Gladiator, for example), and after 1000 simulations, they indicate which warrior would emerge victorious (the Apache beat the Gladiator, BTW).

Sprout and I watched a couple of episodes, and actually debated on one (Viking versus Samurai). My daughter figured the Viking's larger frame and brute force would overcome the Samurai's slight build and speed. It was close, but the Samurai was victorious.

But the point is that my daughter formed an opinion regarding a hypothetical combat between two warriors who would never meet on the field of battle.

I'm not quite sure what this says about my 7-year-old daughter, or my skill (or lack thereof) as a parent. My daughter is sarcastic, yet respectful. Vicariously violent (through such things as this TV show, for instance), but gentle as any other little girl you can find. She's a fantastic student, yet suffers from a slight case of test anxiety, and worries if her scores are not perfect (though my wife and I are VERY careful to make sure to not put that kind of pressure on her).

I thought daughters weren't supposed to be such paradoxes until at least the pre-teen years.

What in the world did I do wrong (or right)? And what am I going to do when she gets to be totally unpredictable?

I can only hope that she remembers how much she likes spending time with daddy, and how much she likes talking with mommy, and her pre-teen and teen years are as abnormally easy as her infancy was.

Or else I could end up as more of a basket-case than I am already.