Did you ever try to locate something and you just couldn’t find it, but you found something much better? Well that happened and I found a little book my daughter Nancy presented to me on my birthday ten years ago. It is precious. What a perfect thing to read for Father’s Day. There is no title on it but the last words of the dedication say, “Oh my Papa, to me you are so wonderful.” There are eleven stories, each one more special to me than the last.

The Dancin’ Rag The story behind “The …

Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, Sexy, and …

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God, how the world needs a good shot of happiness and positive thinking right now, this minute, if not sooner.  Enough gloom. Let’s think about sunshine and happiness and smiling too. Let’s think about that greatness that is in you.

Are you staying home as you read this because of the coronavirus? Well for folks married or otherwise this can be quite a challenge. It might be quite a strain. I’ve read that the sales of alcohol, illegal drugs and porno are soaring. Mental health problems, suicide and spouse abuse are skyrocketing. Oh where is the relief we seek?

A conservative group’s protest called …

When I was a student at the University of Detroit High School my English teacher in the eleventh grade was named Father Skiffington.

Reckless and irresponsible. [efn_note]CBS News, Jason …

Is there anybody out there still reading this?  I hope a few will respond. After watching the news one wonders. Leave your comments below near the bottom of the page. 

Trump “Fiddled” while People Died How can …

Several steps have been outlined by the experts. File …

Wash your hands. That is the mantra we are hearing …

In this time of turmoil let us pray.. I believe that right now this might be the greatest crisis that we have faced as a nation.  Fear appears to have overcome this whole world and it is a time for prayer. Early in my life I discovered this Prayer of St. Francis and only recently have I realized that the prayer itself  is a menu of ways that we might individually serve as an instrument of the Lord’s Peace. Examine the words of this prayer yourself and see if one particular mission might call out to you.

Instead of Orange-Faced, Trump Should Be Red-Faced A …

Who cares about ethics? Assets held by President …

My academic career left a lot to be desired.  Not only was I a poor student but I was a troublesome one too.  My graduation yearbook lists my achievement as spending the most time in the jug (after school detention) than anyone in the history of the University of Detroit High School; a dubious distinction indeed.

Follow The Money $5,600, the maximum allowed for the …

In 1975 then President of the United States, Gerald Ford had to cancel his speech for the Michigan Petroleum Association’s Annual meeting at the Grand Hotel,  Mackinac Island, Michigan. The Petroleum Association President  called me and hired me to speak as the replacement for President Ford.

God Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change those things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. 

Do Your Research BallotPedia.org United States …

The impeached President’s supporters Senator …

The National Prayer Breakfast is a thing that is not …

End Citizens United There’s no way around it: The …

It looks Trump is starting a war with Iran. Hundreds …

It is just January 2nd as I write this but this is my third day of high productivity. I cheated and started early. First thing I did was weigh myself.

Do Be Fooled by Trump’s Lies Voo-doo Magic So …

The following article was received via email shortly …

Here I go again! I don’t know about you but it seems like every year, a few days after Christmas I get all antsy and I feel compelled to write down a whole bunch of impossible resolutions.

We came across an interesting article by Vince Wade …

Until a year ago, I rarely dealt with the bank branch that handled my business account. Those transactions were always handled by an associate.

Martin Scorsese’s new gangster film epic, “The Irishman” would seem to be a slam-dunk winner. It has an all-star cast, featuring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. It showcases state-of-the-art special effects which have “de-aged” De Niro and Pacino. And Scorsese is widely regarded as one of the best directors in Hollywood. But the film has one big problem. The film story line is not true.

Have you ever gone into an ethnic restaurant here in the U.S. and pretended to yourself that you were back in time visiting a foreign land? Jean wanted to find something different for me on Veteran’s Day and so after driving around for a bit we arrived at the Hong Kong restaurant in Durham, NC.

A perceptive, smart-ass newspaper columnist named H.L. Mencken made that prediction in 1920, nearly a century ago.

What a wonderful fall day here in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Just a bit of nip in the air and the leaves on the trees in our yard are like a rainbow. The air is so fresh and crisp and I slept like an angel last night. Certainly, all is well with the world.

One day a schoolteacher wrote on the board the following: 

Jean and I innocently walked into a local Target Store and at the front of the store they had a table with three young ladies recruiting new employees to work this Christmas season.

On the morning of February 14th, 1961 I became a writer. First thing, I answered a want ad offering a used Underwood typewriter for sale.

For the past few weeks, I have been endeavoring to sort out the books and booklets I’ve written by date. Then I want to make a second collection sorted by topic. I thought it would be a simple project but now I am suffering from the result of a lifetime practice of sloppy bookkeeping.

Have you ever been scolded and told “You just better straighten yourself out.”  Well I caught myself saying that to myself yesterday.

H. L. Hunt, who in his time was one of the richest men in the United States, once said that “You must decide what it is you want and decide what you will give up to get it.” Persistence falls into that category. The reason my poem titled “Pay Attention Brother” has been an inspiration to new writers is that many of them never had a hint of the price they must pay to succeed as a writer.

Twenty women who have faced extraordinary challenges and have overcome hardships are profiled in a new documentary-style exhibit at Flagstaff’s Pioneer Museum. It’s called “Resilience: Women in Flagstaff’s Past and Present.”

I was listening to the news this morning, really trying to keep up with the reporters but they were just a tiny bit too fast for my comprehension. It wasn’t that I couldn’t hear, keeping up was my problem. 

A dynamic speaker named Bill Sanders invited me to join him one day when he was visiting Jackson prison. That would be around 1980. We went into the maximum security section and visited with prisoners serving life sentences and then we would each gave a little speech and talked with prisoners privately.

James Brown, the old Blues singer, wrote and sang a song titled “Papa’s got a brand new bag”. I sort of associated that song with the different brands I have had in my career.

Did you ever get to laughing so hard that you had to get down on the floor and get into a fetal position just to survive?

From February of 1997 to February 2001 I wrote a total of 57 songs which we recorded with Greg Brayton at his studio in Coldwater, Michigan.

Hot has been the topic of conversation these recent days and my memory went back to 1951 when I was a G.I. at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas.

The Final Minutes of President Obama’s Farewell …

Oh the stuff I find around our house when I am looking for something else. Did you ever do that.? The same is true with my computer.

There’s one thing that unites everyone who works at PetSmart: we all love pets. Cats, dogs, goldfish, parakeets, hamsters – you name it, we love them. Every day, we bring our passion together to create something amazing: a place for our many best friends to be healthy, happy and to keep those tails wagging!

Plaintiffs Attending the Wedding of Suzanne Cummins and Holly Mitchell

“I personally think eventually this will be very positive for the state of Arizona,” Pochert said. “If we win this case, I think our real work begins, and that’s that process of healing. I think it’s going to take a couple of years or even longer for people to realize the impact of the decision. I think people will realize nothing has really changed. We’ve created another layer in society that’s a little more stable.”

On February 17, 1998 I was a guest speaker at the Florence Crane Women’s Facility, A Maximum Security Prison. This story that follows is about that day.

Although not currently available on the Arizona Department of Transportation’s website, there are nine cameras that now monitor traffic along the critical route into the City of Maricopa.

This program allows citizens and business owners to register the locations of their video surveillance systems with the Maricopa Police Department. When a crime occurs, we will be able to identify the locations of video surveillance systems and enlist the assistance of citizens to help us collect video evidence.

Anchor, reporter. References: Facebook…

Adam Polaski from Freedom for all Americans writes, “Carl Mangold is something of an expert in helping people better understand themselves, their feelings, and the world around them.

Alia Beard Rau writes for the Arizona Republic and AZCentral.com, “U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick has ordered Arizona to pay $200,000 in legal fees in one of the two cases that challenged the state’s ban on same-sex couples marrying.

U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick has ordered Arizona to pay $200,000 in legal fees in one of the two cases that challenged the state’s ban on same-sex couples marrying. And the costs for Arizona to defend its law defining marriage as between only a man and a woman could get much, much higher. The order came in the Connolly vs. Roche case, which attorney Shawn Aiken filed in January 2014 on behalf of several individuals and couples, including Joe Connolly and his husband Terry Pochert.

Bruce St. James and Pamela Hughes from KTAR …

News-Herald – Lake Havasu City, Arizona

One of the staples of Hollywood B-movies in years past was to take themes from horror or monster films with adult casts and apply them to movies with teenaged casts; I Was a Teenage Werewolf, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, I Was a Teenage Zombie, etc.

Richard J. Wershe, Jr., better known to some as White Boy Rick, is a sinner. There isn’t any argument about that. He is the first to admit it.

In January of 2014, Joseph Connolly (above right) and Terry Pochert (above left) were the first couple in Arizona to file a lawsuit to remove the state’s ban on same-gender marriage. In October of that same year, U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick did just that, declaring Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, immediately ordering the state not to enforce it.

Our lawyer, Shawn Aiken, received the Human Rights Campaign Arizona’s Corporate Equality Award on behalf of his firm, Aiken Schenk Attorneys at Law. Shawn and his team fought tirelessly for Marriage Equality here in Arizona.

Fair warning: these blogs won’t be a “quick read.” In a world accustomed to 140-character tweets and 160-character text messages many, perhaps most, of these blogs will exceed a thousand words, sometimes a lot more. Thanks to the exponential growth of mass media, 24/7 news coverage and the endless short-burst chatter on the Internet we’ve become a society with the attention span of a gnat on amphetamines. If that describes you, this blog isn’t for you.

Moving Arizona Forward was the theme of the 2015 HRC Gala held in Phoenix, Arizona. Thousands attend to celebrate achievements of those of supported many of the LGBT issues through the past year including Shawn Aiken, the lawyer of filed the first lawsuit to bring marriage equality to Arizona.

Document 93 References: 2:14-cv-00024 #93 (PDF …

Joe Connolly and Terry Pochert are a Valley couple whose legal 2008 California marriage formed the cornerstone for one of the two cases that brought marriage equality to Arizona on Oct. 17. Their marriage is now considered valid in the eyes of Arizona’s laws, and the lawsuit for which they were the lead plaintiffs (Connolly vs. Jeanes) was based on secular arguments.

Defendants Michael K. Jeanes, Maricopa County Superior …

It’s time to vote for equal rights

Notice of Withdrawal of Co-counsel

References: New Times, October 23, 2017, Ashley Cusick …

Terry Pochert and Joseph Connolly are Among Those Who Changed History – At 10:36 a.m. on Friday, October 17, Michael Jeanes tweeted his followers: “Welcome All to the Clerk’s Office. Your marriage license awaits, and we are ready to serve you!”

Lawyers who helped win marriage equality in the State of Arizona with Terry Pochert and Joseph Connolly.

Joe Connolly and Terry Pochert, the men who sued the state last December to recognize their 2008 California marriage, released a joint statement Friday morning.

Sara Ruf writing in the Casa Grande Dispatch on October 18, 2014, “…In the end, it all came down to Judge John Sedwick, a visiting judge from the U.S. District Court in Alaska. Sedwick ruled Friday morning that the recent Ninth Circuit Court decision to strike down gay marriage bans in Nevada and Idaho also applied to Arizona.

An amazing thing happened back in October, 2014.  …

Couple robin (from left) and Renee Reece listen to Joe Connolly and Terry Pochert speak to a crowd of gay-marriage supporters in Phoenix on October 17, 2014, after gay marriage was legalized in Arizona.

A portion of the letter says, “Pursuant to an injunction issued by the United States District Court for the District of Arizona in Connolly v. Brewer, 2: l 4-cv-00024-JWS, I am writing to inform you that Arizona courts can no longer treat marriage exclusively as “a union of one man and one woman” under Article 30 of the Arizona Constitution .

A federal judge in Phoenix has struck down Arizona’s gay marriage ban, calling it unconstitutional, paving the way for same-sex marriages in the state.

In a brief order made available Friday, a federal judge considering challenges to the Arizona ban said he’s all but convinced that Arizona’s laws and constitutional provision against gays being able to marry are illegal.

Amazing Part of Arizona History – Thank You Terry Pochert and Joe Connolly

Doc 85 – Submit Supplemental Briefs – JUDGE SEDWICK TEXT ORDER re: 47 MOTION for Summary Judgment AND 58 MOTION for Summary Judgment.

Press Covering Marriage Decision in Arizona – With Terry Pochert and Joe Connolly along with David Chaney and Clark Rowley

In October 2005, George Takei figured his long, successful Hollywood career would screech to a halt.  His reasoning? Then 68, the actor best known as Star Trek’s Hikaru Sulu came out as a homosexual.

“If I could marry you, I would ask you right now,” Joe Connolly said from across the table to Terry Pochert. The two men exchanged onion rings at that very moment, a silly gesture that meant much more. Despite how much they loved each other, it was 1995, and the thought of same-sex couples having the freedom to marry was a distant dream. Instead, Terry and Joe made a promise to one another that they would live their lives together in love.

Declaration of all the Plaintiffs in the Arizona Marriage Equality Law Suit

he first case filed with the State of Arizona, Connolly v. Roche, is now being requested by Lambda Legal to have their case transferred into the first case filed Connolly v. Roche

Now that the revised complaint has been filed with the …

Arizona SB1062 Defeat

I have walls of books in my office and upstairs in my music room and some days I just pull out a book at random and open it up and start reading.

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Terry Pochert and Joseph Connolly – Across the country the legal landscape for same-sex marriage is changing, and fast.  In the Southwest in recent weeks, courts in New Mexico and Utah have delivered victories to gay marriage proponents.  Now in neighboring Arizona, some gay and lesbian couples are challenging their state’s definition of marriage.

Back on January 24, 2014, Terry Pochert and Joe Connolly made Arizona Equality history by challenging the State of Arizona’s marriage discrimination laws.

This Order addresses challenges to state and federal laws relating to same-sex marriage. The Court holds that Oklahoma’s constitutional amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Court lacks jurisdiction over the other three challenges.

Luis Ortega plans to spend Father’s Day with his son, Robert, at their favorite park – where they will honor the memory of Luis’ late partner and Robert’s other dad, Christian Barco, who died suddenly last year.

The suit filed Monday claims a voter-approved ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. It seeks to allow same-sex couples to be married and recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states.

Suzanne Cummins was raised in Mesa, Arizona and Holly Mitchell was born in Oklahoma and raised in Texas. Suzanne and Holly met on the job and began dating in 2007. They would like to marry but Arizona laws discriminate against same sex couples.