I believe...

Funny thing, I tend to take offense when someone tells me that I'm stupid, that I'm just "following the crowd" and essentially that I can't think for myself when it comes to making important decisions.

So let me give you all some insight into who I am (if anyone cares).

If you don't care or don't want to read any further, then please skip this post and go play Scrabble on Facebook. I'll let you know when I post something that is more interesting.

What I do and do not believe in - an abridged list in no particular order:

I believe in a woman's right to choose. I believe it is a right to privacy issue and that the government needs to step away and leave said decision between a woman and her doctor.

I believe that abstinence-only "sex education" will never work, except as a talking point in elections.

I believe in the death penalty.

I believe our troops need to come home. Now.

I believe that both parties in Washington are to blame for the economic crisis that we are currently facing. I also believe that partisan finger pointing solves nothing and both sides need to work together to fix this quagmire.

I don't believe marriage should only be between a man and a woman. And I believe that the Constitution should NOT be amended to "protect" marriage because, quite frankly, marriage is not in danger.

I don't believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

I believe confession is unnecessary and that my sins are between God and me, no middle man needed in order to relay them to the man upstairs.

I believe that women should be allowed in the priesthood, that priests should be allowed to marry and that the Catholic Church is stuck in the past more often than not.

I believe that if my mother-in-law reads those 2 statements above she would make me say 5 Hail Mary's and two Our Fathers.

I believe green M&Ms taste better than the others and that the brown M&Ms taste bad.

I believe that global warming is man-made.

I believe welfare should be a temporary fix, not a permanent way to live.

I believe sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender is alive and well and very much ignored in the workplace.

I believe in ghosts.

I believe in evolution.

I believe that men and women, regardless of their sexual orientation, should be allowed to serve in our military.

I believe everyone should have access to affordable health care.

I believe in stem-cell research.

I believe the government needs to spend more money finding a cure for Autism, breast cancer, AIDS, diabetes and other serious diseases.

I believe that LOST is very close to jumping the shark.

I believe in freedom of speech.

I don't believe that the 2nd amendment gives you the right to own an assault rifle.

I believe the Chinese "girls" gymnastics team lied about their ages.

I believe that you don't have to agree 100% with a given candidate in order to vote for him/her.

I believe that people who text while driving should be pulled over and given a ticket. I also believe there should be a 1-800 number we can call to report stupid drivers.

I believe naps are essential. Even when you're 35 years old. If you're tired, take a nap.

I believe chocolate should be a food group. And part of the "food pyramid."

I believe everyone should understand the difference between there/their/they're before they are allowed to graduate from high school.

...and I could keep going and going, but I will stop now. It makes little difference to me if you've read this far or not. I just needed to vent more than anything - a lot has been annoying me today, starting with essentially being told that I am incapable of thinking for myself.

I guess my point is this: We don't have to agree on everything (hell, we don't have to agree on anything), but we do have to be respectful of each other's viewpoints and opinions. The beauty of blogging is meeting new people (our blogger 'friends') and being able to share in their joys, sorrows, humor and opinions while maintaining the ability to speak our minds without being ridiculed.

Feel free to disagree with me.