THE ELECTIONS ARE OVER!

President Obama has been reelected. 4 more years of that beautiful family in the White House. That said - this has been a grueling election season. I am beyond disappointed with both major parties. The negativity during the primary election for the Republicans was only a view of what was to come for the general election. Personally I think both sides should be quite ashamed of themselves. Over $6 billion spent for the election when schools across the country are struggling. It amazes me that we can't use private funding for public schools like we can for these elections. We can throw $6 Billion at tv ads and radio spots yet we can't get enough textbooks in classrooms and we can't seem to pay teachers in some parts of the country a decent wage! I'm quite glad the elections are over. I'm thrilled that in Maryland by popular vote Gay marriage has been upheld and I'm very glad that we will not be denying people the opportunity to marry the one they love, to be able to be by their side in the best and worst of times. I realize that as a Christian I should be against it in some way. And I am - but as a Christian my greatest charge is to love those around me and I don't think it is very loving to treat people like crap simply because I don't agree that their lifestyle is in line with my Christian beliefs. If I really think about the passages in Leviticus that specifically mention men laying with men and it being detestable, I have to also consider the other words in the passages. And I realize that if I am honest with myself, my behavior when I was living the life of your typical college coed was quite detestable. The difference being that there weren't groups of people watching me and telling the world my actions were wrong. We have got to stop cherry picking the Bible and deciding what is and isn't acceptable and then using what we've deemed acceptable to walk around and judge others. 

Also passed was the Dream Act, and I'm have mixed feelings about it. I love the idea that students who are uprooted by their family members in the middle of high school will have the opportunity to pay in state tuition so long as their parents pay taxes here for 3 years prior to their applying. But I have very mixed emotions as to if we should be extending that to families that are here illegally. On the one hand, if they came here as children it was not their choice and they shouldn't be penalized. On the other hand should they be allowed to compete with citizens for slots at our colleges? It has passed now so we'll see how it is moving forward. It may not effect citizen students at all and possibly may provide a path to citizenship for those who desire it. Only time will tell. 

We also passed Question 7 - which will allow PG County to build a casino w/table games. Currently we have the Maryland LIVE! Casino but it is ALL electronic. Supporters of the bill claim money from the casino will go to education - I'm not sure how anyone could actually believe that but again time will tell. It really is unfortunate that we live in a country that seems to place so little value on education that we raid the budgets for education and allocate that money elsewhere... But it is what it is! At the very least this new casino will bring jobs and revenue to the area. And frankly jobs is something we need everywhere. There will be construction jobs to build the casino and then jobs to operate the casino. It will take a few years to get it done but it will happen eventually... 

With all of the bills passed across the country (including legalizing recreational marijuana) it will take some time to see the effects they will have. Same with President Obama, without the possibility of not being re-elected, it will be interesting to see how he operates during the next term. As always, we need to keep our leaders in our prayers. We need to pray that the decisions they make are sound and for the good of the country and to some extent the world around us. Pray for their safety and the safety of their families. Sasha and Malia (side note - I LOVE the name Sasha...) Are going to live another 4 years in an interesting bubble. And while the press has mostly given them privacy, as they age and possibly become more visible, it's unlikely they will keep their privacy. In this crazy day and age where we have what seems to be unlimited access to celebrities, and politicians I hope they respect that the Obama girls aren't like the Kardashians, they didn't sign up to have their privacy invaded at every turn. 

This is much longer than I expected and wanted - and I still have so much to say. But I'll leave it here for now. 

XOXO