Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Obama cult
I think that with the proliferation of buttons, t-shirts, posters, etc. that Obama supporters (spell checkers need to start recognizing “Obama” as a word….) may in fact be a cult….and me with my buttons, and t-shirts and posters, I’m ok with that. If it gets things done in this country, I’m ok with the fanatical support. Because unlike the cult of Mr. codpiece, the object of our veneration intends to get things done – like healthcare, energy security, and restoring civil rights.

Individual freedom
It is so ironic to me that one of the core principles of Conservatism is individual freedom and responsibility. This seems in DIRECT contradiction to GOP support of gay-marriage bans, right of privacy infringement and abortion bans. You stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours. INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM idiots! I’ll entertain your right to bear arms when you get out of my bedroom. I’ll consider smaller government when you get your laws off my body.

Well Prop 8 passed in California, stripping same-sex couples of their Constitutionally guaranteed right to marry. Fortunately, the world has lawyers and they have descended en masse to file objections to the proposition. From what I can tell, they are levying three main arguments at Prop 8.

1. You cannot attach an unconstitutional amendment to a constitution. – Since the California State Constitution was found to hold equal marital rights for same-sex couples, you can merely pass an amendment (which standing alone as a law, would be struck down as unconstitutional), to negate the State Constitution proper.
2. You cannot strip rights from a class of people with a Constitutional amendment – Stripping rights from one class would require a Constitutional Revision and a two-thirds vote. AND to even get to the Revision, you’d have to open a Constitutional Convention - this too, would require a two-thirds vote.
3. Making a distinction in rights between same-sex couples and straight couples violates the Equal Protection Clause of the federal Constitution.

There are two more arguments that strike me. You shouldn’t be allowed to make these kinds of changes to a CONSTITUTION with a simple majority vote. AND. IT’S JUST WRONG.

It’s like this, if the language of the Propsition was: “Only marriage between a white man and a white woman is valid or recognized in California."”, this wouldn’t even be an issue. Insert almost any other adjective before man and woman and you can see why this Proposition is a joke. Except it’s not a joke. It’s happening, and now thousands, of couples cannot get married. Not to mention that marriage is a CIVIL right, not a RELIGIOUS one. This should not even be an issue. And the Mormons, really? I mean really? Of all the people…after having been run out of New York state, and then Missouri before settling in Utah because of their quirky beliefs about, or all things, MARRIAGE. You would think that the Mormons would understand. And it’s not like I want to marry more than one girl, really, it’s just the one. Instead the Mormon Church poured nearly $20 million into the campaign to pass Prop 8, and supplied who knows how many GOTV volunteers. So, boycott UTAH – Mormon run, and boycott Marriot – Mormon owned. And for God’s sake, sign the Courage Campaign’s petition here and donate money to help us beat back this horrible horrible law.

Sanctity of marriage bullshit.
When you can drunkenly find a chapel in Nevada and get married at 2am, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you can get divorced 8 hours later when you’ve sobered up, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you can get married two, three, four times, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you claim you can get married to two, three, four women at the same time, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you force a child to get married just because there is a baby on the way, there can be no sanctity of marriage. Sanctity of marriage is bullshit. Marriage is a civil contract. There could be religious sanctity of marriage, but that is between your religious official and a believer – not me and the state. Shove off.

Campaign Post Mortem
Well, the campaign is over. It’s still not clear if we won or lost MO, though, I suspect that we lost it. We worked really hard and knocked on countless doors…and we killed in the city and the county, but we could not overcome the rampant bigotry in rural areas. I had a great time, and I can’t believe that it’s over. Election day had me in charge of four canvass captains and scores of canvassers – it was an incredible experience. Photos will be forthcoming. And that party at the Chase was electric. I’ll admit it, I cried a little. And I’ll probably cry again on Inauguration Day. We may have lost Missouri, but we sure won the country (did I mention that we picked of an electoral vote in Nebraska? Nebraska of all places!) So thanks to everyone I met on the campaign, and all the volunteers that came out and knocked on some doors, or made some phone calls, or donated money – it is much appreciated. It will be fascinating to see what changes President-Elect Obama will enact and what opportunities will arise. But we’ll be here, watching.

(I’ll miss checking fivethirtyeight everyday for the latest poll numbers, but the founder assures us that they are not going away and are going to continue to provide fascinating content for our perusal.)

(I’ll also miss the antics of former VP nominee Sarah Palin, though I suspect that she’s going to stick around for awhile. She’s had a taste of the limelight, and I think that despite the negative publicity, she wants more. Sarah Palin 2012? Please. Of course she is still facing an ethics investigation in Alaska…)

Prop 8 Redux
Keith O weighs in:

Friday, November 07, 2008

Yes we did.


(Via Bob Geiger - courtesy Steve Kelley)

Thursday, November 06, 2008

YES WE DID!