The future begins

So I swiped this subject line from the up and coming Star Trek movie.

What a crazy ride for all of us - but as we saw state after state vote in our new president, the change America wanted - needed - became real. And for the first time ever did a president-elect acknowledge the gay citizens of this country as of the same value as everyone else.

Yes, the Mormon-influenced efforts to defeat prop 8 won the battle, but not the war. Because now, the fight goes national. The rein of the Christian right is crumbling and with new, fresh change in DC - in all branches of government - will equality for all be recognized. Indeed, this is happening in our lifetime.

The Mormons should have left California alone because with a national fight, whether it's at the Supreme Court or the addition of "sexual orientation" to the national anti-discrimination law, they will see same-sex marriage and equality within sight of their temples and churches in all 50 states. Perhaps gay couples holding legal marriage certificates marching down the streets of Salt Lake City wasn't what they had in mind, but that is what they will get.

I am sad my immediate gratification for a legitimate and legal recognition for my relationship won't happen today. But I am encouraged that the future for all Americans - not just Californians - to see equal status is within reach.

What would be next?

Tomorrow we vote. Tomorrow the Castro, West Hollywood, Hillcrest and every rest stop along highway 5 will be gathering the locals to either celebrate or protest the outcome of proposition 8. Every conservative church from the Rick Warren's mega-church in Saddleback to the smallest mountain church in Lassen will either claim their prayers worked or what they have been predicting all along - Satan has control over the USA and the horsemen and locusts are next.

So this morning I ask- what if? What if prop 8 passes? Is that it? Does the fat lady sing "Amazing Grace" and our struggle is over? I am no expert on law, but I do have some assumptions. Assuming we have an Obama Administration, I predict the same-sex marriage issue to work its way to the Supreme Court, and in what is sure to be a bloody argument, the same-sex marriage bans will ultimately be deemed unconstitutional much like the sodomy laws in 2003.

What else I think could be brewing is an unintended consequence for the religious right - which is the ultimate battle between church and state. In the end, the traditional marriage viewpoint is rooted in a Christian belief that marriage is "sacred" (although the bible itself is fuzzy on the issue). However the bible doesn't set law in the country - the Constitution does and at some point I think we will see this battle on the hill. It will be emotional, it will be intense, but the state will win out.

If I were a pastor I'd see prop 8 as not a fight for so-called traditional marriage, but as a step toward legislating discrimination who's passage can set precedence for the next group of people to lose their rights. Could race and religion be next? That would be my message to my flock - "we might not agree with same-sex marriage, but we sure as hell don't agree with tampering with people's rights, because ours could be threatened next."

Vote. Come rain or shine or earthquake or work.

Tonight on SNL: McCain and more Fey as Palin

In case you missed it. McCain actually did better on this skit than he did in the debates.

Prop 8 margin narrows

No on Prop 8 still leads the yes posse in the polls, but it's gonna be tight. Get out the vote, donate (I have - twice), call your friends, e-mail Gov. Schwarzenegger who has stated he opposes Prop 8 but has yet to publicly join our cause. The LDS church is trying to change California and every person can make a difference.

Even Karl Rove says Obama can win

Remember this plump asshole? According to Karl Rove's website, Obama's lead is so far ahead of McCain (311 EV to 157 EV), that the old fart will need to pull every swing state and a few blue states in order to be president. Now isn't this the same puppetmaster behind the GOP machine? Interesting.

Still more Fey as Palin

From tonight's SNL Special on the election. With Will Ferrell revising his role as W.

Republicans for Obama

War is hell

Here is an vid in support to reelect Tom Udall, senator in NM, who secured funds to help our wounded soldiers returning from that clusterfuck in Iraq. It's an emotional commercial. I support our brave troops and wish all of our dedicated armed forces in harm's way, whether in the desert or sea, the best of luck. Let's bring them home.

Taken from Bill in Exile. His site is not always work safe.

The red and the blue

For those of you who like to follow the polls, here is a great website: Real Clear Politics. As of this morning, they have put Obama with 313 electoral votes, clearly more than enough to win. it's an interesting site to dig through. Notice what color Florida is.

Viral ad: No on Prop 8

Clever. Send to everyone and donate. Now is the time for all Californians to stand up for equality.

We have Canada, but where would the GOP go?

Slate has a humorous take on the often threatened move to Canada that us left-leaners promise when presidential elections spiral to the right.

But public opinion is shifting blue - Obama has broken 50 in the national polls. So Slate muses Where can republicans go...?. Suggestions include Israel, Poland and the Cayman Islands. But as they say, "it ain't over till it's over."

So what will the fat lady sing? Will it be Hatikva for the GOP expats, or Oh Canada for those who simply cannot stomach another term of the right wingnuts?

Icebreaker

Not necessarily headlines, but something noteworthy nonetheless: the land of Bjork is collapsing. Iceland, once heralded as having the highest standard of living in all of Europe, is on the brink of financial ruin. Today the government seized control of the largest bank and still, the country faces national bankruptcy.

Sadly, none of Reykjavik's friends came to the rescue. Clearly they have their own financial messes to sort through. So it seems Iceland is turning to Russia for financial assistance. If the $5.5 billion loan goes through, the country can stabilize it's currency but will still be in the woods.

Russia? I'm not sure how I feel about that. They claim not to have any interest in the abandoned USAF base there, but...

So what happened? Well Iceland relied heavily on cheap foreign financing to boost up ambitious entrepreneurship and mortgages. As the world economy started to falter the debt piled up and the tiny Atlantic nation started it's, uh, meltdown.

Very sad. But this is just the beginning, in my opinion. The financial stability of the planet is shaking down - is it rightsizing or collapsing? Does anybody really know?

I wish our Icelandic friends good luck. Sam and I are thinking about going next year for this. Maybe it will be inching it's way back up, or the krona will be exchanging at bargain basement rate. Who knows.

Debate

When the pollsters finish counting their scores, I think it will be clear: Obama won tonight's debate. The man spoke as a leader, addressed the questions, had awesome stage presence and charisma. His opponent? Looked awkward, ornery at times, and dodged questions. His attempt at humor was embarrassing. He referred to Obama in one response as "THAT one." Shameful.

Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Dish summed it up nicely:
This was, I think, a mauling: a devastating and possibly electorally fatal debate for McCain. Even on Russia, he sounded a little out of it. I've watched a lot of debates and participated in many. I love debate and was trained as a boy in the British system to be a debater. I debated dozens of times at Oxofrd. All I can say is that, simply on terms of substance, clarity, empathy, style and authority, this has not just been an Obama victory. It has been a wipe-out.It has been about as big a wipe-out as I can remember in a presidential debate. It reminds me of the 1992 Clinton-Perot-Bush debate. I don't really see how the McCain campaign survives this.

See his blog of the debate here.

Smear Campaign

What is this bitch winking at us for? Flirting for votes? A nervous tic? I wish it were that easy.

Today this infected piece of tampon stated in Burlingame that the campaign against Obama-Biden is going to get tougher (read: slanderous and nasty). Would we expect anything less from this sleazy Jesus freak and her cantankerous running mate? I find it interesting that they are in essence stating, publicly, that their campaign has failed on it's merits and that they will resort to bashing and attempting to discredit the opposition. Yeah, I know - Politics 101 .

I am so done with her and her folksy winks and her glib, moronic syntax.

More Fey. More Palin.

Logic?

I received this in my e-mail inbox from a friend today:

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....


* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."
* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.


* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.


* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.


* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
* I f your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.


* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.


* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you're very responsible.


* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's
* If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.


OK, much clearer now.

More Palinbabble

A few chestnuts of wisdom from the GOP candidate-of-choice for the second most important job in the world. Is it just me, or does it give you the creeps to hear the phrase "when John McCain tapped me..."??

If you were on the fence about her now, here's hoping you jumped clearly to one side.

A republican ad to defeat prop 8

Sure they state the republicans need to get a woman in the White House, but they also clearly support marriage equality. Will the message fall on deaf ears?

More musings from Palin

Watch CBS Videos Online

Now I know why the McCain camp is keeping her away from the press. She just rambles nonsense.

Fey as Palin 2.0

In case you missed it last Saturday night. Honestly I do not know how Tina and Amy get through the skit without cracking-up.