Update: I just went outside and made a snow angel.

Christmas and our first snow in Tsuchiyama

Last night I turned to Joe and told him "I want to make a snow angel." I began to motion on the floor like if I was making snow angels. Then Joe turned to me and said, "Did you take your medication today?"

Then this morning Joe woke up before me and opened the window in the bathroom because it seemed unusually bright. All of a sudden I hear "Wake up wake up... It's snowing." Here are a few pictures of our first snow in Tsuchiyama and our Christmas pictures.

One step forward two steps back.

I am extremely upset over Obama’s choice of Rick Warren as the spiritual leader during the inauguration. The "reaching across the aisle” argument doesn’t fly. Being pro-gay is not the same as being pro-life or pro-choice. Gay people believe (as do I) that they are born this way. Being gay is not a lifestyle choice they’ve made. It’s biological to them. Being pro-choice or pro-life is something you choose based on your religion. And having a religion is also a choice you make. As a straight woman, I did not make that choice as a teen or an adult. How can anyone tell a gay person that this is a matter of choice? It is the same thing as telling a black person that they chose to be Black. Being pro-gay is the same as being for Black, White, Latino, Asian or Indigenous rights. Rick Warren has equated homosexuality to pedophilia and incest. Some people think Black people are inferior to White people. If Obama would have had a Klan member as a key speaker at his inauguration no one would say “Obama is just reaching across the aisle.” But Obama would never do that.
If I was Obama I would also reach across the aisle and work with people I didn't agree with 100%. But I wouldn't "pal around" with bigots. This is his day of celebration. It celebrates the occasion when the nation got together and elected a president that would unify the nation and the world, and this is who he picks? He could have chosen a spiritual leader who saw all of God’s children equally. Instead he picks Rick Warren. I ask myself, “Was he the only person available?” Then I ask myself, “Who did Obama make this choice for, himself, the nation or the far right?”
I am not happy with all of Obama’s appointments, but I give him the benefit of a doubt.
I just say "he knows what he is doing… I am sure he has a plan.” I just don’t know what the benefit of having Rick Warren would be, if not just to please the far right. I need someone to talk me down.

PS. I am also tired of this BS about redefining the word marriage. We've been redefining it for centuries. Why stop now? Plus they don't want to get married in your church. So leave your religion out of their lives. I think people like Britney Spears and Rush Limbaugh have been redefining marriage. So why listen to him about this issue? He doesn't take his vows seriously.

Shameful

I am the type of person that tends to say what's on her mind. It's not hard for me to tell a person they are being racist, sexist or xenophobic. I would even tell my close friends, coworkers or my own family members that their way of thinking is backwards and hateful. I wont spare their feelings by sugar coating it and the consequences of my actions wont even cross my mind. After the situation I come out questioning where this person's upbringing failed them and feel proud that I am not like them. I think to myself "If I let it go, they will never learn that it's not right to think that way". People rarely say negative things about Mexicans or women to me so it's not a personal attack that I am arguing against. I always think of the poem First they Came.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

I thought I was doing good just speaking out. This is something I can do in my day to day life to make a little difference in the world. If everyone spoke out against hate, the world could be a better place. Then the other day it hit me. I am not brave at all by speaking out. I have the luxury to speak out. Many women around the world don't have that luxury. They pay the price for voicing their opinion. Many women in the Middle East are getting acid poured on them for simply going to school. Women are getting assassinated for speaking about rights for women. Women are the most oppressed group in the world. So many admirable women are risking their lives for the hope of gaining knowledge, working, feeding their families or ending rape. Of course there are people who say nothing against hatred when they have absolutely NOTHING to lose.

I am feeling so furious and helpless knowing that women are in danger with no protection from their husbands, families, communities and government. It's the same with children around the world. Female children are getting raped daily in the Congo. Ages ranging from 4-80 this absolutely breaks my heart. I can't imagine living in those conditions seeing my children and elders get treated in such a manner. I am also furious that people chose to not speak out against hate when they have that luxury of speaking without repercussions.

The links below are to two articles about what women face in other parts of the world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/opinion/30kristof.html
http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/1561.cfm