It's a Wonderful Life

Capuchin Monkey - from Manuel Antonio National Park

2006-03-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

Capuchin Monkey - from Manuel Antonio National Park
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

For more pictures click here: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AatGTRkzZsmb4¬ag=1

Snow Storm 2006

2006-02-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

Snow Storm 2006
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

This was the biggest, wettest snow I've seen in a long time. Many many trees snapped like matchsticks

Chateau Fontainebleau

2006-01-06T01:07:00.000-08:00

Chateau Fontainebleau
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Chateau Fontainebleau

2006-01-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

Chateau Fontainebleau
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Notre Dame Paris

2006-01-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

Notre Dame Paris
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

quite cold in Paris during the winter

Cheers from London

2006-01-04T00:54:00.000-08:00

Big Ben
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

We had a great time in London

Joyeux Noël à vous tous!

2005-12-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

Joyeux Noël à vous tous!
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Merry Christmas to All my Friends and Family

Mule ride in Paris

2005-12-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

Mule ride in Paris
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Can't remember where this is located in Paris, but I think it's near the Monet Museum. I love this picture.

Countries I've visisted

2005-12-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

Countries I've visisted
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Some of them are so small they are hard to see

Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Belize, Luxembourg to name a few.

December 1, 2005

2005-12-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

Giornata Mondiale Lotta contro l'AIDS
Originally uploaded by EvaKant.

We've come so far, but have so much more to do!

This administration continues to funnel US Government dollars to Faith Based organizations that use it for abstinence education.

In my opinion our ability to bond (sexually) with another person is what makes us unique. I'm not saying other species don't pair. I'm just saying that we do it in a very complex manner.

Asking us to abstain is not only absurd, it's goes against the biology of who we are and how we got here.

Halloween 2005 - Gay Morman's with the Tootsie Pop Lady

2005-11-02T18:30:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2005 - Gay Morman's with the Tootsie Pop Lady
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Once again we were a hit. Don't know why gay men and straight women are attracted to morman missionaries. :)

The Bush Guys

2005-10-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

bushguys_lg
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

What a fisherman.

Parents with Gay Children

2005-10-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

Parents with Gay Children
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

The following video is one in a series of 7 that the NGLTF has created to combat homophobia in the Red States. I applaud them for this effort. These videos are great. Here's an example!

View the video by clicking here

Will we forget?

2005-10-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

Originally uploaded by joeydestino.

It's the 7th Anniversary of Matthew Shepherd's death.

http://www.matthewshepard.org/

Magic night

2005-08-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

magic night
Originally uploaded by tom_the_greek.

I found this picture on Flickr and thought it was fantastic! Don't you agree.

Berries

2005-08-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Berries
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Wild Black & Raspberries.

Growing right in our own backyard! Amazing that the bushes have volunteered within 4 years and are producing gallons of berries.

Very lucky!

The new Volvo

2005-08-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

Volvo Grill
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

The new wheels! Pictures have arrived. It's a been a great car during the first 6 days. 300 miles and ~20.5 MPG so far.

Click here to view the pictures

Rose

2005-06-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

100_0955
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Ah - summer is finally here. And look at all the beautiful flowers!

Click here to view the pictures

It's my RIGHT - You can not dehumanize me

2005-05-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

Thankfully someone who's willing to fight back! And thanks to Baltimore Sun for publishing this Op-Ed.

I'm amazed that 99.9% of the gay people in this State allow this Governor to walk on them in this manner. This infuriates me to no end. May the Governor live to see that day that he regrets his decision. Maybe it'll be his own child that turns out to be gay or lesbian?

Shame on you Mr. Erhlich.

--------------------
Callous disregard for human rights
--------------------

By Dan Furmansky

May 31, 2005

MOST MARYLANDERS agree they want their spouse's hand clasping theirs when they are in intensive care. They want him or her to speak on their behalf when they are unconscious or unable to speak for themselves. They trust they will be able to see their loved one's reassuring face as they are being transported to a hospital. And they take for granted that their other half's knowledge of their wishes should guide the important decisions about how their body will be treated after they pass away.

Unfortunately, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. does not believe these rights should extend to all Marylanders, as evidenced by his veto of the Medical Decision Making Act.

In his veto message, Mr. Ehrlich claimed he did not want to "undermine the sanctity of marriage." Sanctity, according to some dictionaries, is "holiness of life."

Certainly, John Lestitian respected the sanctity of Jim Bradley's life. When Mr. Bradley, his partner of 13 years, died, Mr. Lestitian couldn't carry out Mr. Bradley's written instructions to be cremated without first gaining the consent of Mr. Bradley's parents, who caused their son great emotional anguish over the years.

How about the sanctity of Mary Beth Dyer's life? Although Ms. Dyer and her partner, Fran, have been together for 15 years, that didn't matter to the doctor who was assigned to Ms. Dyer's case when she was hospitalized with unexplained blood loss. Her father traveled from another city to speak with the physician and relay the information to her partner even though her partner was the person who would take over caring for Ms. Dyer after her release.

Is Mr. Ehrlich so concerned about his definition of "sanctity" that he felt he had to turn a blind eye to loving couples who face humiliating and frightening obstacles to being together at the most critical times of their lives? Some might call that sanctimonious.

To top it off, the governor speaks as though he had zero opportunity to weigh in on the bill. That is hardly the case. Equality Maryland and the bill's sponsors welcomed Mr. Ehrlich's opinion and solicited it both before and during session, only to be told by staff members that the bill was "still under consideration." We were amenable to strengthening the legislation and accepted several amendments throughout the process, including last-minute amendments by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The legislation was simple: It permitted any unmarried couple that registered with the department to make crucial health care and postmortem decisions for one another. It granted 11 rights, the majority of which cannot be accomplished through an advance directive, power of attorney or last will and testament.

Several states, including New Jersey, Maine, Hawaii and California, have enacted similar legislation without problems.

The Medical Decision Making Act completely avoided the contentious issue of marriage equality for same-sex couples and explicitly said so. But that did not matter to Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr., an Anne Arundel County Republican who announced his intention to bring the bill to a referendum in 2006 if the governor had signed it into law.

Mr. Dwyer also tried but failed to hold up a bill to study how the Holocaust, genocide, human rights and tolerance are taught in Maryland schools for fear it could result in forcing public schools to teach the tolerance of homosexuality.

Apparently, for the Don Dwyers of the world, the specter of the "radical homosexual agenda" can be found everywhere, even in a bill that says gay people shouldn't have to worry about dying alone while their loved one is being told "sorry, you're not family" just a corridor away. Unfortunately, Mr. Ehrlich chose to represent this faction of his party rather than the thousands of constituents who prayed for enactment of this legislation.

The Medical Decision Making Act dealt with basic human rights, plain and simple. It would have granted peace of mind to thousands of committed couples - and not just gay couples, but senior citizens and others who cannot or choose not to marry.

Thousands of Marylanders are shocked and dismayed at the governor's callous, politically motivated veto that has undone the will of the General Assembly. Is it any wonder that so many gay Americans feel they must turn to the courts to protect their liberties?

Dan Furmansky is executive director of Equality Maryland.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Baltimore Sun

Link to the article:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.unmarried31may31,1,277365.story

What happened to my Blog?

2005-05-31T04:45:00.000-07:00

Flickr

2005-05-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Honfleur

2005-05-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

Honfleur
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Mt Rainer, Washington State

2005-04-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

Mt Rainer, Washington State
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Mt Rainer is an awesome.

How would you like to read this meter

2005-03-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

100_0728
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Costa Rica - what life should be like

2005-03-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

100_0798
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Here are the pictures from Costa Rica. They are pretty Incredible. Some require a bit of explaining. The bees nest, termite nest - etc.

Click here to view the pictures

The best streaming music on the web

2005-01-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

If you're into damn good dance music, this channel is awesome.

Click here to listen

Who am I?

2005-01-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

O.k. so I am what I am...

just me playing around with audio blogging. Enjoy

Pack your bags!

2005-01-23T05:41:00.000-08:00

Icelandic Lupine
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

What are you waiting for?

Get to Iceland. It's a wild and wonderful place. The people, food, sights and adventures are all incredible.

When you land in Keflevik you'll feel like you've landed on the moon. The landscape in and around the airport is a vast area of lava fields. It's like nothing you seen or experienced before. O.k. - so maybe a few of you have. But it's worth a second trip!

WWJD

2005-01-22T23:28:00.000-08:00

All the major networks found this Ad objectionable and refused to air it. What do you think?

Do you think you know what's best?

Blizzard of 2005

2005-01-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

P0002877
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

Well it sure wasn't a foot of snow. It was almost 5 inches - big deal! We want more snow!

View more pictures here

The Idiot gets onboard

2005-01-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. So I say to myself... Self - what's the blogging thing all about - and who really cares. Does anyone really care about my sarcastic view of the world?

Well - I've created this space to highlight just what a wonderful life it is.

I think this is the best example "first" example:

View a great new television commerical which sums up just how great our President really is

Tree Peony

2005-01-22T06:48:00.000-08:00

100_0116
Originally uploaded by MichaelFowler.

My favorite flower in the garden is a Tree Peony. This picture does not do justice to the actual size of the bloom which is about the size of a human head.

And you think you have it bad...

2005-01-21T05:13:00.000-08:00

Well I had to get your attention some how.

More to follow....