Adam Sunny Flanders

Seldom do I get really excited anymore about a major political or social cause, even when it comes to gay rights, that is, my rights. Social attitudes take time to change, which is why I thought it was ridiculous we ever brought marriage equality to popular vote in Maine or anywhere. The rights of a minority should never be voted on by a majority. The majority has little interest in changing their ways to accomodate a minority and in all of American history, there is not a single example of a minority right being won nationwide by popular vote. When the Supreme Court struck down bans on interracial marriage in 1967, over 70% of Americans were opposed to interracial marriage. Current polls show that slightly more than half of Americans oppose same-sex marriage, so we’re doing pretty good in that respect. However, civil rights come from the high courts and Congress. I laugh every time I think of Americans voting on the rights of others – voting on same-sex marriage is as absurd as a community made up of 90% men voting on whether or not to allow women to vote, or Mainers voting on whether to criminalize interracial marriage.

So it brings me great joy to let you all know that same-sex marriage has its first Federal court hearing this Monday. Even better, it will be the first Federal hearing to be completely televised and published online. It will also be streamed live to other Federal courts. It’s a result of the Prop.8 appeals. I bet the Prop.8 people will really be kicking themselves if their campaign ultimately ends up being the route to nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage! Don’t think the Supreme Court would rule in favor of same-sex couples? Guess what – it already did in 2003. Lookup Lawrence v. Texas. The lawyers opposed to same-sex marriage have already stated that they cannot produce a single example of how same-sex marriage would harm society. Obviously the trial won’t be resolved in one day – it will likely go on for a while. Monday is just the beginning. Our side is arguing that Prop.8 is unconstitutional because it creates a separate class of people, as did the sodomy laws that were oveturned by Lawrence v. Texas. Laws against same-sex marriage violate the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution. There are many other good arguments for same-sex marriage and so far there are no legal or rational arguments against same-sex marriage. The court obviously will not hear religious arguments or the fear-inducing propaganda like that spread in California and Maine during Prop.8 and Question 1. We have a little thing called Separation of Church and State in our country.

CNN has reported that the video of the hearing will become available to the public via YouTube Daily. Those opposed to same-sex marriage (supporters of Prop.8) didn’t want the video aired publicly because they feared retaliation. I say good – their actions represent a direct attack on a minority of people based on how we were born, attempting to strip away our basic human rights and invalidate the real love shared by same-sex couples and their families. They’re trying their best to make us secondclass citizens who are lesser and don’t have basic rights. Last time that happened we called it the Holocaust. In Maine the Christian Civic League, energized by the Question 1 results, is promoting the reintroduction of sodomy laws in Maine, which is impossible because the states cannot violate the US Constitution. Nonetheless, the stupidity continues. *Sigh*. Someday soon we will look back at all of this and wonder why it was ever an issue, just as most of us wonder why interracial marriage was an issue 50 years ago, when the same people and organizations who are now opposed to same-sex marriage were throwing out scripture to argue that God “did not intend the races to mix.”

We will see same-sex marriage legalized nationally in our lifetime. I think it’s a matter of a few years at most. Monday’s trial is the beginning of what will likely end in a Supreme Court or Congressional decision striking down DOMA and all state laws against same-sex marriage. Our side has also subpoenaed documents from the Prop.8 campaign showing that the campaign was fueled by homophobia and religious bigotry (big surprise). However, that’s going to be extremely important for our success in this trial because it shows an additional malice and violation of Due Process as required by the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled in Loving: “There is patently no legitimate overriding purpose independent of invidious racial discrimination which justifies this classification. The fact that Virginia prohibits only interracial marriages involving white persons demonstrates that the racial classifications must stand on their own justification, as measures designed to maintain White Supremacy. It takes no stretch of the imagination to replace racial discrimination with homophobia and White Supremacy with heterosexism. In my mind we’ve already won – we’re just waiting for the court to announce it officially. Monday is the first step!!!

FairPoint is a local internet/tv/phone provider and in an attempt to compete with Time Warner’s $100 3-in-1 bundle, they’re offering a better deal for $77/month. They also enlisted the help of Jim Henson Studios to design Bundle, the cutest thing of 2009! There may be a plush for sale soon. You can see the commercial and one of Bundle’s music videos below.

I’ve been playing videogames like crazy. I got Crystal Bearers for Christmas, along with a few other games. My little sister Ash and I have been playing a lot of Super Monkey Ball lately, lol – I uploaded a video of us playing the baseball minigame – we aren’t very good, lol. But there’s not much else to do in these wintry months – I can’t wait to move to someplace warmer next year, then I can scuba dive all year ’round. Anyway, Happy New Year! 2010 is gonna be great!

I just watched this really incredible documentary called The Cove. It’s focused on the Japanese exploitation and slaughter of dolphins in Taiji. It’s very disturbing, but I’m glad I know about this now – I wasn’t aware that dolphins are still being killed for food in Japan, and in such an inhumane way. This documentary exposes the secrets of the Taiji dolphin slaughters that go on every day between September and March. FMI visit http://www.thecovemovie.com/ or http://www.takepart.com/TheCove

I have noticed recently a lot of films have promoted a more humanitarian perspective. I just saw Avatar in 3D with my friend Jay the other day and the message was clearly about the exploitation of other sentient beings. District 9, another scifi film, reminded me of how people treat those they see lesser than them – the real “District 9” in the movie accurately represents real concentration camps existing both in history and modern day. There have been countless environmental films and human rights documentaries in recent years. I hope this means we are moving in a direction of conscious raising, and that many of us will take the steps to actually do something about these issues.

I know most of you reading my blog are from Maine. Right here in Turner, Maine we have an issue with the Quality Egg of New England farm, a farm that is abusing its animals to the extreme. You can watch video below that was captured earlier this year:

Christmas was awesome. I bought so much stuff for my family this year! We got my mom a really nice white wool pea coat from Chadwick’s, and my little sister got an iPod Touch – I helped her sync the music with mine. We also got her a Canon camera now that she’s gotten really into photography like me. My big gift was a new HD camcorder. I’m going to be making some special effects videos soon combining my CG animations with real life video, just for fun.

We dressed up the poocademons, too, with little antlers, though their heads were too small so we had to put them around their little waists, haha! They’re so precious. I also got lots of clothes and some Wii videogames – Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers and Jurassic: The Hunted. And then some money, which I’m thinking about using to take a trip down to Florida during winter break, but maybe I should save it for textbooks this Spring, hehe. I posted a short video taken with my new camcorder, though the lighting was really low. Holiday wishes for everyone!

Having to tend to our gym, my dad didn’t have time to buy a Christmas tree this year, so a few days ago I went into the woods to get one myself. It was pretty fun – being able to go into my backyard and find total silence, just the whistling wind and cracking branches – one of the things I like about Maine. Plus, the pride in finding and cutting down my own tree is something I haven’t experienced since I was little. I got the right kind this time – once I brought home a tree that ended up smelling like cat pee, LOL! I’ve embedded a slideshow below, or you can see the full-size photos in my Flickr account. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas! ^-^

Yesterday Mexico City became the first Latin American city to legalize same-sex marriage! The legislative assembly voted 39 to 20 in favor of same-sex marriage, and 31 to 24 in favor of allowing same-sex couples to adopt children. Go Mexico City!

The Fall semester is over and we’ve just begun winter break. Not sure what I’ll be doing yet, but I’d like to share the following information – it’s a basic presentation about transgenic plants AKA GM crops. Plant genetic engineering is the focus of my academic studies and what I’m doing now builds the foundation upon which I will eventually establish a full career. I’m one year away from my BS degree, then I’m getting my Master’s.

It’s important for me to show people that GM food is not dangerous – genetic modification occurs naturally and GM plants are just as organic as any other. In fact, GM plants are good for the environment because they relieve farmers of the need for synthetic pesticides that harm many plants, animals, and often humans as well. Since the Summer I’ve been working with Japonica rice and studying the techniques of DNA transfer. I’d like to share my presentation with you so that you can understand the basics of plant genetic engineering and see that GM foods are perfectly safe, healthy, and 100% organic.

The video plays very fast, so you will need to pause it to absorb all the information properly. All images and photographs are © Adam Flanders.

A new film is coming out that directly examines the relationship between homosexuality and the Bible. It looks to be humorous, but also very serious in the way it debunks the 7 lines of scripture in the Bible that supposedly condemn gays and lesbians. We’ve always known that fundamentalists pick and choose scripture – in the Bible, the Lord calls eating shellfish an abomination more than so-called homosexuality. I think this will prove to be yet another piece of literature showing that anti-gay rhetoric is on its way out as gay and lesbian people are increasingly accepted in American society, and as we move toward full equal rights, including marriage equality.

Second only to Gibran’s The Prophet, Richard Matheson’s What Dreams May Come is my favorite book. A lot of you have probably seen the (also awesome) film starring Robin Williams (Chris) and Annabella Sciorra (Annie), in which they both die and find one another in the afterlife because they are soulmates, proving that not even death can end true love. Chris goes on a journey to save Annie from the Hell she’s created for herself by committing suicide. “Across whatever distance there is, I send you my love.”

A lot of people don’t know that Matheson’s book is primarily a work of non-fiction. That is, everything in the book is based on research and extensive anecdotal reports. At the end of What Dreams May Come, Matheson lists a very thorough bibliography of all his books, and encourages us to read every one (there are A LOT). I have decided to do just that, starting with Appleman’s Your Psychic Powers and Immortality, which I just got in the mail today. It was hard to find this book, published in 1968, but it came from this little private bookstore in Tennessee and the author actually signed the front cover. Books are always better if they have a history.

I’ve always been interested in the supernatural and spirituality. I definitely recommend reading What Dreams May Come – the story goes so much deeper than the film and explains so much about the afterlife and what it means for all of us. Reading between the lines, there is also an important message about living life to the fullest as well, and that we create our own destinies with the choices we make. If you’re a heavy reader like me, you’ll also want to work your way through Matheson’s bibliography the way I have begun. Below is a direct excerpt from his prologue:

“Because its subject is survival after death, it is essential that you realize, before reading the story, that only one aspect of it is fictional: the characters and their relationships. With few exceptions, every other detail is derived exclusively from research. For that reason, I have added, at the conclusion of the novel, a list of the books used for this research. As you will see, they are many and diverse. Yet, despite their wide variation with regard to authors and times and places of publication, there is a persistent, unavoidable uniformity to their content. You would, of course, have to read them all to prove this to yourself. I urge you to do so. You will find it an enlightening–and extraordinary–experience.”

I’ve always liked this little saying. I’m not sure who started it, and there are many versions, but it reminds us that we should be thankful for all the good things in our life, even when they don’t seem like blessings. Near the end is especially true – I’ve got a ton of laundry to fold, lol. Happy Thanksgiving!

I AM THANKFUL

• for the wife who says it’s hot dogs tonight,
  because she is home with me, and not out with someone else.
• for the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato
  because he is home with me and not out at the bars.
• for the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes
  because that means she is home not out on the streets.
• for the taxes that I pay
  because it means I am employed.
• for the mess to clean up after a party
  because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
• for the clothes that fit a little too snug
  because it means I have enough to eat.
• for my shadow that watches me work
  because it means I am out in the sunshine.
• for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing,
  because it means I have a home.
• for all the complaining I hear about the government
  because it means that I still have freedom of speech.
• for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot,
  because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.
• for my huge heating bill
  because it means I am warm.
• for the lady behind me in church who sings off key,
  because it means I can hear.
• for the pile of laundry and ironing,
  because it means I have clothes to wear.
• for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,
  because it means I can still work hard.
• for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours,
  because it means that I am alive.