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The O calls for Vancouver to be brought into Metro’s jurisdiction.
Enough already with playing coy; it’s time for a stable relationship. After all, marriage would simply recognize a pre-existing condition. We’ve been living together for years.
Personally, I think this is a great f*cking idea. Too bad it will never, ever happen. Go ahead, call me a cynic.
UPDATE: Links to the article you are citing are always good.
Senator Larry Craig is a gay man
And guilty of the charges he faces (read: plead guilty to). Read the police report. There is little room for nuance or interpretation.
Personally, I feel sorry for him. The cloud of intolerance that surrounds the Republican cadre forces so many people to deny who they are and engage in this type of behavior; it is truly a sad commentary on conservatism. Being a gay Republican is tantamount to being Judas. Or a Muslim. If they had accepted homosexuality as part of the human condition this man would likely continue to serve as a Republican Senator. But there’s no way that will happen now.
I for one welcome the growing acceptance of homosexuality in our culture, for several reasons, not the least of which is that it will ultimately result in the utter demise of the Republican Party.
28 percenters
It occurred to me that I should define that term, since I used it in my last post. Basically, it refers to the roughly quarter of the population that still thinks Bush is a good president. I believe Dave Barry once quipped that a major party could nominate a cabbage and still get 25% of the vote. Well ladies and gentlemen, we’re now in cabbage territory. Let’s take a look at some similar statistics:
- 33% believe a wife should “submit herself graciously” to a husband
- 30% say the Bible is the “actual word of God” to be taken literally
- 29% think people will be “more likely” to afford college for their kids in 2020
- 28% disapprove of labor unions on principle
- 28% say the government should have the right to control news reports
- 27% believe divorce is “morally wrong”
- 26% thought various disasters in 1999 might “foreshadow the wrath of God”
- 26% think grade-school teachers should be allowed to spank their kids
- 24% describe themselves as interested in what celebrities think
- 21% say justice was served in the O.J. Simpson case
- 20% approve of the how the Catholic Church handles pedophilia
- 20% believe that the killing of civilians in Vietnam was “relatively rare”
Yeah, that sounds about right. The question is, will Bush end his term above OJ?
Holy crap
Did anyone see the Magna Carta Part 2? I’ll admit that I don’t quite understand how Tony Blair got to hand pick his successor and still call their system a democracy, but if the PM has that kind of unilateral authority, Gordon Brown just gave the farm away:
In his first address to the House of Commons as prime minister, Mr Brown said he would “surrender or limit” powers in 12 areas, including royal prerogatives such as declaring war without parliamentary approval.
Mr Brown also said the prime minister should lose the right to choose Church of England bishops.
He added that MPs would hold US-style confirmation hearings for appointees to important public posts – such as the chief inspector of prisons and the local government ombudsman – and to ratify international treaties.
He also suggested the possibility of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 and changing the laws restricting the right to demonstrate in Parliament Square.
Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said reform was “long overdue” and called for a full “constitutional convention” to discuss changes.
I’m no constitutional scholar, but it seems that the coalition of the willing just became the coalition of the 28 percenters.
I like Ted
The governor of Oregon, Ted Kulongoski, is a typical career politician. He was a legislator, a Supreme Court justice, and has been the guv since ought-three. A lifelong bureaucrat, and a tool of the labor union lobby, he is the Democrat’s Democrat. But he is also a fundamentally decent person. This is how you know.
Looking to call attention to the state’s ongoing battle to reduce poverty and hunger, Kulongoski and his wife, Mary Oberst, pledged to spend a week eating only the provisions they could buy for $42 — the average allotment for two people on food stamps. As Kulongoski discovered when he grabbed three boxes of off-brand mac and cheese, it’s tough going.
That’s what they’ll eat and drink this week — no exceptions. Kulongoski has sworn off meals at conferences and restaurants. He’s even forbidden to tap his “beer fridge,” a separate cooler at Mahonia Hall filled with various labels of his favorite beverage.
What I want to know is, where is this unguarded fridge?
Property wrongs
Washingtonians should thank the Freaking Lord that Initiative 933 failed. I wonder how many voters would have chosen to take an ideological anti-government stand if they knew it would have meant unrestricted open-pit gravel mines?
Three Measure 37 claims nearly surround Warrick’s 56-acre vineyard. The first, a 160-acre housing development, is adjacent to his property; the second, for another housing development on less than 50 acres, is directly across the road. The third claim, about three miles away, proposes a 20-acre mine for aggregate rock on the banks of the Applegate River.
Homeowner complaints could potentially shut down the winery, Warrick says. And the mine, he fears, could create traffic issues on the small, winding two-lane road that accesses the Wooldridge Winery.
As the law stands now, there is little Oregon farmers can do to protect their businesses from Measure 37 claims.
“Where do we go for compensation?” he asks.
Nowhere. That was never the intention. The whole charade about “property rights” was a blatant power grab by big development interests, pure and simple. This kind of stuff makes me angry beyond words.
Democracy is on the march
Former Senator Rick Santorum concedes defeat to Senator Robert Casey:
Don’t cry, FORMER SENATOR RICK SANTORUM. I’ve been waiting years to say that.
UPDATE: Well shit, there former Senator Rick Santorum had to go and give a classy concession speech. Whatever, former Senator Rick Santorum still sucks, and I’m sure former Senator Rick Santorum’s compatriots will welcome former Senator Rick Santorum home in Virginia.
The War of the Words
If you haven’t seen the story of the 101st Fighting Keyboarders, you are missing out.
Silly Liberals
As every good Republican automaton knows, the first thing Nancy Pelosi will do when she becomes Speaker of the House is to re-name our nation The Stalinist States of Islamerica. And now they are all in a tizzy about how that path of destruction will be slashed and burned. Some of these are a bit ridiculous, admittedly, but isn’t that why we have a deliberative Legislature? Here are some highlights of Democrat-backed legislation, interspersed with my smarmy comments.
Justice for the Unprotected against Sexually Transmitted Infections among the Confined and Exposed Act (JUSTICE) Act (Lee, D-CA)—H.R. 6083. Requires community organizations to be allowed to distribute sexual barrier protection devices (e.g. condoms) in federal prisons. Also prohibits a federal prison from taking adverse action against a prisoner who possesses or uses a sexual barrier protection device.
Since the federal government has never acknowledged prison sex as a problem, it clearly doesn’t exist. And if we start giving prisoners condoms, it’s only a matter of time until someone fashions a giant condom parachute, escapes and murders your children.
Antibullying Campaign Act (Nadler, D-NY)—H.R. 3787. Creates a new federal grant program aimed at reducing bullying in public schools “based on any distinguishing characteristic of an individual.”
Why should the federal government concern itself with trivial matters like school safety? Our schools are totally safe.
Tupac Shakur Records Release Act of 2006 (McKinney, D-GA)—H.R. 4968. Enshrines copies of government records concerning rapper Tupac Shakur in a specially created collection at the National Archives.
Ok, this is silly. Maybe it is this kind of legislative prowess that caused Ms. McKinney to lose her re-election bid in the primary.
States’ Rights to Medical Marijuana Act (Frank, D-MA)—H.R. 2087. Allows physicians in states with medical marijuana laws to prescribe marijuana without violating federal law.
Silly liberals. When will they can their ridiculous “states rights” rhetoric?
Ex-Offenders Voting Rights Act (Rangel, D-NY)—H.R. 663. Allows those convicts who are just out of prison to vote.
God forbid we allow people who have paid their debt to society to, like, re-enter society. On the other hand, if this doesn’t pass there won’t be very many Republican Congressmen voting in the next decade or so.
Department of Peace and Nonviolence Act (Kucinich, D-OH)—H.R. 3760. Establishes a U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence, as well as a Peace Day. The department would promote “human rights,” international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, structured mediation, and peaceful conflict resolution.
Unnecessary, because the Bush Doctrine has worked so well thus far.
End the War in Iraq Act (McGovern, D-MA)—H.R. 4232. Defunds the War in Iraq, forcing immediate troop withdrawal.
This is a terrible idea. I’m completely serious.
Media Ownership Reform Act (Hinchey, D-NY)—H.R. 3302. Restricts ownership of radio and television stations, forcing some owners to divest their holdings, and regulates broadcast content.
If this had been in place, start-ups like Clear Channel would never have become the community-minded corporations they are today.
Menu Education and Labeling Act (DeLauro, D-CT)—H.R. 5563. Regulates what certain restaurants must print on their menus.
Again, a terrible idea. Not in theory, but can you imagine how this would be implemented? Neither can I.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States respecting the right to full employment and balanced growth (Jackson, D-IL)—H.J.Res. 35. Creates a constitutional right to full employment.
What is this, the Soviet Union?
Boy, I would LOVE to see a similar list of ridiculous Republican legislation. Of course none of these things would be a priority, and the things the House will actually be debating are completely left off this list, to scare people into voting. You know, silly left wing fantasies like limiting the federal defecit. As a wise man once said, the first rule of interpreting right wing spin is if the details are lacking, there’s a good reason for it.
Jalalablog 