My Vote is For

After much thought, I will be voting for Lib Dems on May 6th, even though my constituently leans towards being a Tory safe seat. For me that's always been a problem. The previous MP just took it for granted that people would vote Tory and put his feet up in-between elections, in fairness it must have been tiring, after spending large amounts of taxpayers money. Thus my vote will go some way to making this seat less safe and more accountable.

Tactically having the Lib Dems in opposition or working with the Tories, would cover the worries that I have about the Conservatives with regard to social issues, economic unfairness and non progressive policy. Certainly I see it being in my interest as a gay woman, to have a socially liberal party either working to influence the Tories or opposing them. Not because I think the Tories will roll back any gay rights legislation, I don't think they will. More that I doubt such a minority of people will be high on there list of considerations. The religious vote is bigger and more blue rosette wearing.

But more important for me and central to my choice, what a wonderful thing it would be, to show them who's parliament it really is, not Labours or any parties, but the peoples. I gladly place my vote for the change the Lib Dems could bring.

Election Week One - In My Bag Is

An interesting week, if somewhat tedious, full of grinning politicians and glaring Gordon. I'll be doing this weekly post up to election day, essentially reading the news so you don't have to. It's a thankless task at the moment.

• The Digital Economy Bill was thrust through parliament, with little debate. Quite why it couldn't be scrutinised by the next parliament, given the concessions made by minsters. i.e restrictions on the activities of persistent copyright offenders will not come into force for a year. Instead indicative of New Labour, it was ushered along with little regard for due process. Finish how you started then. Its about the only consistent thing New Labour have done. Shamefully undemocratic and draconian.
  

• Brown spent some time this week promoting the utopian crime free future of a DNA state. The wonderful Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, challenged him:

  It has been suggested that the tragic case of Sally Anne Bowman was only solved because her murderer was 'an innocent' on the database. In fact, he was arrested for a separate violent offence and it was then that his DNA was matched to the crime scene.

So taking the DNA of those convicted or arrested for crimes worked then? Who would have thought that if you had a targeted approach to collecting or retaining DNA, rather than an indiscriminate approach, it could be affective.

• Tories have pledged to erase the historic convictions of all those found guilty of consensual gay sex. This is with regard to several changes to the law over the years, yet due to that not being retroactive, there are people who have criminal records for homosexuality. This is a good idea, to tar people as a sex offender for having a consensual relationship, is just disgraceful. Though I don't imagine it being a large amount of people, it's the right, fair and just thing to do for them. I at last give my full support to a Tory policy.
  

• Jack Straw will face the mother of Gary McKinnon as she stands as a candidate for his Blackburn seat. She's wants to protest against Labour's erosion of civil liberties and the extradition treaty with the US. Good luck to Janis Sharp, though I don't imagine for a moment she will win, it will lead to some very uncomfortable moments for Jack Straw. Priceless.
  

Lastly, there were a lot of pledges in theory, smiles, staged photo shoots and "we will consider that" responses from the party leaders. Nothing new, other this pushing of the political wife into the limelight. Which has been nauseating.

I'm Coming Out!

Me, your wonderful host

I've written, deleted and rewritten this post several times, wondering what I should say and whether I wanted to say those two words "I'm gay". I decided that since I've recently came out to my family, by writing this for me I can be open in all parts of my life, it also explains somewhat my distraction of late. For others it may help to understand that journey you go through to open the closet door, at best it may help someone who hasn't come out take that step. So where to start on what is the most personal post I've written?

I recently came out to my family, I'm 28 which certainly would fall short of government targets if they should be some on "closest opening". Oddly though from my experience within the LGBT community it's not a late age. I've always thought that things would have been so much easier if thinking back to my youth every image, every message and every narrative wasn't that a relationship is between a man and a woman. If "gay" wasn't just a word people used to insult, yet weren't quite sure what it was all about and neither were you. Which is always what I think of when people speak of "gay indoctrination", they don't stop to consider the reverse of that. Yet it is never indoctrination to present different views, it's education. Which is never something that society should fear.

For me getting to this point was a slow realisation, steps forward, backward and burying my head in the sand for long periods. Largely because I started on the principle that I was straight. Yet when you don't feel like your friends about the cute guy, when you wonder why the orchestrator isn't playing or you feel self conscious about listening to KD Lang, these just reinforce the thoughts in your mind that something is different. The best way I can express that process you go through is, it's like different levels of consciousness. Akin to recalling a dream or your eyes adjusting to the dark. You see just small parts until you have enough information to see the bigger picture. Certainly being gay is something I feel I have accepted about myself, not chosen to be.

Coming out turned out to be such a tiny moment in my life, yet you enviably build it in your mind to be such a huge thing, because it is to you. So many of your thoughts are filled with trying to put an answer to all those questions and feelings you have, then you think about just how you bring up the subject of being gay, what you say, how you say it, anger that you have to say it. Then there's the thought that you know, that when you say it out loud, you won't be the same person to some people, you know you will spend your life having to come out, as the word partner can only get used so many times. All these things combine make it a mountain that you look upon and feel intimidated by.

Yet I've learnt a lot from my experience, I learnt just how alone you can feel being gay and from that just how important having a community and support is. When your family and friends usually aren't gay being apart of something bigger becomes a life line to you. I learnt that my family are completely wonderful and I shouldn't have doubted them. I learnt that my girlfriend is the best thing that's ever happened to me. But most importantly I learnt what real happiness is. I learnt that when I stopped being caged by the truth.

Vatican Wants Anglicans

Are you an Anglican dismayed at the growing role that women have in the church?

Are you disgusted by woman Bishops?

Do you feel it's scandalous that the church has become more accepting of "gays"?

Then join the Roman Catholic Church today.

Terms and conditions apply. See www.vatican/holysee/terms for details.

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize, which is a little unexpected, I certainly didn't think I would be writing that so soon. I'm left though trying to think of what he's done in actions that deserves such an award, when others like Morgan Tsvangirai are truly more deserving.

I do however agree with the Nobel committee's statement that, with regard to Obama:

Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts.

The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations.

Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting.

Yet aren't you just giving Obama the award for not being George W Bush? Yes Obama isn't a warmonger, he has opened dialogue of more than two syllables with other countries, understands that climate change might be little worrying and of course also partly closed Guantanamo Bay. Yet he also legislated for detaining people without trial, rather than put them on trial. Released memos that show the Bush administration was torturing people, but declined to prosecute them for crimes clearly committed. Has has called for nuclear disarmament while sitting on the biggest pile of nuclear weapons in the world, not one of which has been disarmed.

He speaks of shared values, all while you can still be thrown out of the military for the crime of loving someone of the same sex, when only a handful of states do same sex couples have the right to marry and he's yet to retract the state terror/spying policy brought in under Bush.

Yes his words are lovely, so now he's got the Prize, earn it.

Pink Vote Chasing