March 2013
1 post
I totally forgot that I have blog.
September 2012
3 posts
Mitt Laments 47%, Wishes It Were 70
Can someone explain something to me? A huge chunk of the 47% Romney is complaining about (the ones who aren’t, say, combat veterans, retired seniors or students), are low-wage earners who, thanks to Reagan-era tax reform, don’t make enough to qualify for federal income tax. But if Mitt and Company had their way, unions would go away and, rather than ship jobs and factories overseas,...
Barack Obama's Gay Convention Speech
Barack Obama did something extraordinary tonight that I’m pretty sure is unprecedented, and I don’t want it to go unnoticed. Three times, in a major party convention nomination speech, the accepting candidate specifically stuck up for gay Americans. There was a reference to the government not telling you who you can marry, there was a shout out to the repeal of Don’t Ask,...
Middle Class? Thank a Union Member
Conservatives have a storied history of fighting fantastic government programs tooth-and-nail, and then adopting them as their own once they prove successful and popular. One need look no further than the pitched battles over Social Security and Medicare. Without liberals, neither of these valuable social safety nets would exist. At the time of their creation, conservatives railed against them...
August 2012
3 posts
Since Todd Akin Likes To Get Advice From Doctors
The time has come, The time is now. Just go, go, go! I don’t care how.
You can go by foot. You can go by cow. W. Todd Akin, will you please go now!
You can go on skates, you can go on skis. You can go in a hat. But please, go please!
I don’t care. You can go by bike. You can go on a Zike-Bike if you like.
If you like, you can go, in an old blue shoe, Just go, go go! Please do, do, do!
W....
Republicans on the Bible: "Ignore the Framers'...
There are two schools of thought when it comes to interpreting the U.S. Constitution. Conservatives tend to favor what is known as “constructionism.” Strict constructionists argue that there should be no reading of the document other than that which reflects the unerring intent of the original framers. Never mind that there’s no particular reason for considering the 55...
Romney the Latest General in GOP War on Women
Listen, I know it’s just politics, but I can’t help but become sickened and furious: Mitt Romney, of all people, making a stink about “welfare queens.”
First of all, as much as he wants to channel Ronald Reagan, it ain’t happening. This isn’t 1980, and he doesn’t have the charisma; further, that was Reagan at his petty, demagogic worst.
But beyond that,...
July 2012
1 post
You're Damned Right My Mom Is Entitled
My parents worked hard all their lives–-my mom as a schoolteacher and my dad as a probation officer. They were productive members of society, they played by the rules, and paid their fair share of taxes—no loopholes, no offshore shelters.
In the past few years, my mom has had numerous major surgeries and has had some of the best medical care in the world. It has been paid for almost...
June 2012
2 posts
The Umpire Throws A Curve
I find it thoroughly entertaining—and equally maddening—to listen to conservatives freaking out about John Roberts in the wake of SCOTUS’ 5-4 ruling affirming the constitutionality of Obamacare.
The American right despises Roberts today for actually being the very thing they claim they want all judges to be: an impartial arbiter, not an activist, who followed the law where it took him, and...
Who Loves Ya, Baby?
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance” — Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972
Title IX turned 40 yesterday.
In 1972, Democratic majorities in the House and Senate passed Title...
July 2011
1 post
The Jury Is Dismissed, Ideally With Our Thanks
It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death. - Maimonides
The French philosopher René Descartes once set out to prove the existence of God. But in order to do so, to try and logically prove that God was real, he first decided he must completely abandon everything he ever believed. Starting as a tabula rasa - a complete...
June 2011
2 posts
The Brilliant Idiocy of Barack Obama
I consider marriage equality to be the defining civil rights issue of my generation, so this may be a controversial position to take, but I for one am glad—maybe even thrilled—that Barack Obama did not let his secret support of gay marriage get in the way of becoming the 44th President of the United States.
Obama’s stated position on gay marriage, while complete and utter horse manure by...
Palin Poetry
In honor of Sarah Palin quitting her bus tour half way through, like she does most everything else, I composed this short limerick:
There once was a girl from Alasker
Who would dodge every question you’d ask her
For the ultimate trap
You could show her a map
And task her to find Madagascar
December 2010
1 post
Don't Ask Don't Tell Don't Vote
Well, they did it. The goalposts have moved again.
After first claiming that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal should wait for a Pentagon report (delivered), take a back seat to taxes (now passed) and objecting that it was part of a larger defense bill (it’s now a stand alone bill), the GOP is now threatening to kill the unrelated START treaty vote if Dems insist on holding the repeal...
October 2010
1 post
8 tags
Hate Prop 8? Voting For Brown Is Imperative
On this potentially landmark day, in which federal district court judge Virginia Phillips permanently enjoined the United States from enforcing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, there was also another debate between California gubernatorial candidates Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman. Which got me to thinking:
If you’re a Californian for whom marriage equality is a defining issue, and you...
August 2010
2 posts
11 tags
PROP 8 STAY RULING COMING TOMORROW: SOME FOOD FOR...
Tomorrow morning, Thursday, August 12th, Judge Vaughn Walker is going to rule on whether or not to lift the temporary “stay” he placed on his own ruling in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. If the stay gets lifted, any couple in California may get married, immediately, sexual orientation be damned, until the state is told otherwise. If he leaves the stay in place, gay and lesbian couples will...
Prop 8 Ruling Coming Tomorrow
Tomorrow, August 4, 2010, a federal judge is going to hand down his ruling regarding the constitutionality of Prop 8, the measure which amended the California Constitution to specifically ban gays and lesbians from the government sanctioned civil institution of marriage. Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling is likely to favor those of us who stand for equality. But the victory, though deeply...
July 2010
2 posts
Meg Whitman's Stunning Hindsight
So I was driving North on I-5 the other day, from Orange County to L.A., and I saw a pretty unobtrusive Meg Whitman billboard, in Spanish. Luckily for you, I took four years of that fine language in high school. The billboard’s exact words were - and of course I’m paraphrasing - “No on Prop 187 and no on Arizona’s law”.
Now that’s political courage: coming out...
