Although celebrated yesterday today is Veteran’s Day. Take some time today to remember those who served in the armed forces of our country and those who are presently serving. Thank a Vet today for keeping us free.

US retail giant Wal-Mart pledged to wish its shoppers “Merry Christmas” this year, after provoking ire from Christian activists a year ago for dropping festive greetings.

Wal-Mart said it would downplay the more generic US greeting of “Happy Holidays” this Yuletide and use “Christmas” promiscuously in a barrage of end-of-year publicity. “Whether in the aisles or on the air, online or on TV, Wal-Mart today announced that ‘Christmas’ and ‘value’ will dominate its US marketing and in-store initiatives throughout this year’s holiday season,” the world’s biggest store chain said in a statement.

US groups from the powerful religious right last year launched a boycott of Wal-Mart outlets after accusing the retailer of discriminating against the festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The Catholic League said last November that it had found 200 references to the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on Wal-Mart’s website, but that a search for “Christmas” redirected readers to the site’s “Holiday page”.

The League led the boycott after a woman who had e-mailed Wal-Mart to complain about the use of “Happy Holidays” was told that Christmas, among other things, “has its roots in Siberian shamanism”. Catholic League spokeswoman Kiera McCaffrey welcomed the change of heart for this Christmas season.

“It shows that Wal-Mart is listening to the public, listening to their shoppers,” she told AFP.
“America is an overwhelmingly Christian nation, and the vast majority of people who aren’t Christian have absolutely no problem with seeing people celebrating their holiday.” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Linda Blakley said the company had seen the error of its ways. “We, quite frankly, have learned a lesson from last year. We’re not afraid to use the term ‘Merry Christmas’. We’ll use it early, and we’ll use it often,” she told the USA Today newspaper.
Wal-Mart may have bowed to commercial imperatives in refusing to play the Grinch.

Its sales have slowed sharply in recent months due in part to a slowing US economy but also to a strategy of shifting to more chic retail lines in a bid to woo richer customers. The retail titan said a week ago its same-store sales across the United States rose by just 0.5 percent in October compared to the same month of 2005.

This year, it will rename the area of its stores reserved for Yuletide decorations from “The Holiday Shop” to “The Christmas Shop”. Santa Claus and “Merry Christmas” gift cards will be on prominent display. And Wal-Mart said its staff are encouraged “to greet customers utilizing various glad tidings inclusive of, but not limited to, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah and Feliz Navidad, to name a few”.

Yesterday the Great and General Court meet in Constitutional Convention to debate many issues one of which was the same sex marriage question. I thought that this time the process would work, but alas the cowards shirked their responsibility and adjourned before taking a stand on the question.

Like I said yesterday it’s not the question, it’s the process. More than 127,000 people did not have their voice heard yesterday and that is what bothers me. I think the issue deserves to be heard and voted on, but it would seem that our elected officials do not trust us to do the right thing as they see it. Today, Veterans day, I feel cheated by my elected officials. Yes Comrade that’s what I said, Cheated.

Since my ordination I have tried not to publicly stray into the political arena. Privately I will tell you where I stand on issues but publicly I would not use the pulpit to push people to vote one way or another. Well I guess I do as I preach about what the church teaches. My feeling has always been that if we teach what our respective churches teach then the people will know how to vote. We need to trust our faithful that they will vote how they have been taught. If we don’t teach them then they will not know. So I guess in a sense I do preach politics from the pulpit.

Okay, long introduction to the topic os same sex marriage. Today the Great and General Court of Massachusetts will meet in Constitutional Convention and one of the items on the agenda is allowing the people of Massachusetts to vote on this issue. I don’t think I need to write about all that has gone in Massachusetts regarding this issue, and not coming down on either side, this is more about the process than the issue itself.

The folks that want the definition of marriage to be between one man and one woman have done all that is required of them. They have collected all the signatures that are needed, and now it is up to the politicians to vote, in two legislative sessions, to allow the question to be placed on the ballot in 2008 so all the residents of Massachusetts can decide. With me so far? All this seems simple. This is how it works here and has worked here for generations. However, it seems the President of the Senate plans to call for a recess so the cowards on Beacon Hill will not have to take stand, that we pay them to do by the way, and let the people vote. If you are so confident that the people will up hold the decision and allow same sex marriage to continue, then let us have our voice. What is the problem. The problem is this, the majority of people in Massachusetts oppose this and want the traditional definition of marriage.

So all we poor peons can do is sit back and wait to see what happens. They were supposed to vote on this before the election, but so it would not be an issue in the election, the postponed the vote until today. LET THE PEOPLE VOTE. I believe the fought a revolution for this right. I believe almost 3,000 American Soldiers have lost their lives in the Middle East to secure this right for others while that right is being taken away from us. LET THE PEOPLE VOTE.

If you live here in the Commonwealth you should be outraged that one man is deciding for all of us what the Constitution of this state will say. It might be too late but start calling.

Okay climbing off my soap box now.

Well it seems people are still counting ballots in different parts of the country, and the spin masters on both sides of the isle are doing their thing. All that’s left now is for the country to come together and maybe get some things done for the people that put them there all we can do now is wait and see what happens.

I think the most impressive thing is that people came out in large numbers and voted. This is a victory for the people who took the time and voted, whoever they voted for. I heard reports of runnig out of ballots in parts of Boston, how crazy is that? So congrats to America today for letting the process work, we had our voice and now we cannot loose it.

Today is the big day for my mother. My mother has always been there for me and has been my inspiration in many ways that she will never know. Let’s say a short prayer for all mother’s today they all mean so much to us.