Category Archives: Politics

I despise politics, but sometimes I rant anyway.

A response to NOM's "Gathering Storm" video

If you haven’t seen the video entitled “A Gathering Storm” by the group calling themselves the “National Orgamization for Marriage”, that’s okay. It’s offensive, full of outright lies and exaggerations, and blatantly offensive in its use of the term “Rainbow Coalition” to identify a coalition of churches and other groups that oppose same sex marriage. I won’t embed or link to that video from here; I don’t feel like adding to their hit count.

Anyway, here’s a video that exposes the lies behind the Gathering Storm video. It’s worth the watch, especially if you’ve already watched the NOM’s video.

Right wing lunacy

Is it just me, or has the extreme end of the right wing jumped off the edge of reason and landed gleefully into a pit of pure batshit insane? Between Glenn Beck’s bursting into tears at the very mention of America and Michelle Bachman’s deliberate misinterpretation of a new community service program as a sort of network of camps for the “re-education” of America’s youth (not to mention Chuck Norris’s outright jumps of joy at the notion of right-wing terrorist cells popping up all over the country), it just seems that loony conspiracy theories, once the exclusive domain of the darker corners of Usenet and street corner pamphlets, are turning into whatever passes for “news” on the Extreme Right Wing Apologist Network Fox News Network.

I swear, it’s like they learned nothing when President George H. W. Bush ceded America’s sovereignty to the United Nations and took everyone’s guns in 1992; or when Janet Reno became dictator and took everyone’s guns after Waco and Ruby Ridge; or when President Bill Clinton did the same thing in 1999 and also threw all the right-wing conservatives into concentration camps (not to mention ceding America’s sovereignty to the United Nations and placing the entire country under martial law) all under the guise of the dangers of Y2K. Glenn Beck says he can’t “debunk” the idea that concentration camps are being built to right-wing conservatives, which is kind of like me saying I can’t debunk the idea that Bigfoot has impregnated Amelia Earhart with a space baby. Despite all evidence to the contrary, there will always be people who believe. Since January, Fox News, especially Glenn Beck, has been possessed by the spirit of Morton William Cooper, and become the fodder for mockery and an episode or two of The X-Files.

It is, of course, disingenous at best and mind-explodingly stupid at worst to suggest that all conservatives are represented by this sort of conspiracy thinking, just as it’s disingenuous at best and mind-explodingly stupid to suggest that all liberals want to enforce mandatory abortions on every child in America and turn everyone gay. Of course, if you believe either of these positions — and I know folks on both sides of this particular fence — then no amount of contradictory evidence or reason will dissuade you.

Of course, most of this posturing is just that: posturing. Fox News, like Rush Limbaugh, exists primarily for entertainment rather than information, and as long as the ad revenue keeps flowing in they don’t care that they’ve turned the Republican party and the conservative movement in America into a parody of itself. And that’s what saddens me. Conservatives in America used to be best represented by reasonable, thoughtful folks like Barry Goldwater; people I could disagree with but who I was sure would actually give issues serious consideration and not jump to conclusions that are not just silly but outright batshit insane.

And what saddens me even more is that people believe this shit.

Let's hear it for Iowa

Iowa court says gay marriage ban unconstitutional

It’s funny, because these things usually start out in California and move east. But this time California went stupid and decided that majority rule was enough to strike down something that the state’s Supreme Court had ruled was a right protected by the state’s Constitution, an action that violates one of the basic principles that the United States is based upon. Left up to majority rule, many of the rights that minorities in the United States now enjoy would not even exist. Remember that when President Obama was born, his parents’ marriage was illegal in many states until the Supreme Court ruled that bans against interracial marriage were unconstitutional.

The California Supreme Court is currently reviewing the legality of Proposition 8. I’m not a lawyer, but in my opinion, the passage of Proposition 8 was in violation of the state’s constitution, since overturning the State’s Supreme Court on an issue of protected rights requires, according to the law, a supermajority(two-thirds) to pass instead of a simple majority. Let’s hope that they do the right thing and let the rule of law prevail over fear and prejudice.

21 hours to go, and counting

As of this moment, there are about twenty-one hours until 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time on January 21, 2009, when this guy will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States:

President Barack Obama
President Barack Obama

And for the first time in nearly a decade, I’m finally going to be able to say, “I’m an American” without cringing. I’m sick of BushCorp, an administration more corrupt and more beholden to corporate interests than any we’ve seen in a very long time. While Bush may not have been the very worst President in the history of the United States of America (I personally believe that honor belongs to James Buchanan, under whose administration the nation quite literally fell apart), Bush’s role in the mess that our country is in now simply cannot be denied. I’m looking forward to a President and an administration which values the rule of law, and places at least some value on the Constitution and the values that made our nation great in the first place. I’m sick of a President whose interest in political promotion and whose grandstanding and pandering to right-wing special interest groups overshadowed any progress he could have made for our nation, both at home and abroad. I’m also just sick of a President who wouldn’t hesitate to fling our nation into wars which are unaffordable, morally unjustified, and politically disastrous.

I’m looking forward to a President who seems to act with integrity, and who understands the seriousness and the gravity of the position that he holds. Bush, for all his talk of how he was a “uniter” and “the decider” never quite grasped, in my opinion, just what it meant to be President. Obama hasn’t even been sworn in yet, but already he’s done more to restore the integrity and dignity of an office which got drowned in cowboy diplomacy and a President more suited to the frat house than to the White House.

Barack Obama won’t be the perfect President. From time to time, those of us who voted for him with the highest of hopes will be disappointed, and that disappointment will hurt. Some of us may even end up feeling betrayed.

Honestly, though, after what we’ve been through since Bush “won” the election in 2000, it’s hard to imagine that we could end up with anything worse.

More on prop 8 (I can't help myself)

Today, the California Supreme Court has agreed to take on three lawsuits challenging Proposition 8. Let’s hope they do the right thing, and overturn it. According to the article, “All three cases claim the ban abridges the civil rights of a vulnerable minority group. They argue that voters alone did not have the authority to enact such a significant constitutional change.” This has been my own position all along, and the primary reason why I chose to oppose Proposition 8. Constitutions exist primarily to protect the rights of the minority against the whims of the majority.

A couple of random thoughts.

First, a number of folks who poured money into the “Yes on 8” campaign have complained loudly and vociferously that they are being “unfairly targeted and singled out” for their beliefs. I have to ask them, “Gee, what’s that like?” Seriously, I really can’t bring myself to feel sorry for these people. While I don’t think harassment or vandalism is acceptable, it’s still difficult for me to feel much sympathy. Gays have had to put up with this sort of thing for decades. Centuries, really.

Second, I’ve heard several say, in response to news of the court’s challenge to the ban, something like, “Proposition 8 has passed, it’s the law, deal with it.” I don’t think this is an appropriate response; after all, saying the same about interracial marriages or separate seats on the buses would not be appropriate. Besides, why wouldn’t these people just “deal with it” when the Supreme Court said that gay marriage was protected by the Constitution? They decided that they needed to respond to that, so other people are responding the other way.

Third, I can’t help wonder if the people who funded the “Yes on 8” campaign had anticipated the volume of the backlash that has erupted. Some gay activists have said that the passage of Prop 8 may have been the best thing possible for the gay rights movement. It really seems to have galvanized them.

Finally, I think same sex marriage is inevitable in this country. If the California Supreme Court does not overturn the ban, then it will take a few more years, but it will happen.

Proposition 8: The Aftermath

California, which voted overwhelming for Barack Obama and which passed Proposition 2 (requiring better living conditions for egg producing chickens) somehow also passed Proposition 8, which removes the right of same sex couples to marry in California. To my way of thinking, this is ludicrous. I’ve stated before, and I’ll state again, that in a democracy, you don’t get to vote on civil rights; otherwise, you don’t have a democracy. And Proposition 8 is an amendment to the state Constitution; and, honestly, a Constitution is not the place to define terms like “marriage” or whatever, but rather to protect the rights of the minority from the whims of the majority. Sometimes the people are foolish, and the courts end up stepping in to make sure this aspect of the Constitution is properly implemented (which is why interracial couples can get married anywhere in the country instead of just the 38 states where it was legal when Barack Obama was born).

Unsurprisingly, there has been serious backlash against the passage of Proposition 8. And equally unsurprisingly, the backlash has been targeted largely at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints — the Mormons. The Mormon church — which has traditionally and historically always upheld the traditional notion of marriage as strictly between one man and one woman — poured a lot of money into the “Yes on 8” campaign. There are petitions to encourage the IRS to revoke the Mormon Church’s tax exempt status; I’m in favor of this, but what the church done is not, unfortunately, a violation of federal law, no matter how little business the church has in meddling in the affairs of California. The fact that the Prop 8 campaign utilized mostly fearmongering and blatant lies to move its message only makes me feel even more queasy. I try not to be prejudiced against any group, but I’m going to find it very hard, the next time Mormon missionaries arrive at my door, to not shout, “Get the hell away from my house!” at them.

There is also a movement to boycott Utah, the home of the Mormon church. I approve of this as well though I’m not sure how well it will go over. I’d personally also like to see a boycott of California, which was stupid enough to pass this particular bit of idiocy in the first place. This probably also won’t happen, though it would do my heart good to see, say, some major celebrities announce that they will no longer work in California because of this. This would certainly have an impact on California’s economy, and, in this case, that could only be a good thing. The state is probably already going to feel a financial impact from this anyway.

I think the most promising challenge to the passage of Proposition 8, though, is the legal challenge. In California, there are two methods for changing the state’s constitution; according to Article 18, Section 3 of the Constitution, the electors may amend the constitution by a majority vote, but there are questions as to whether this is the proper sort of procedure for such a major change to the Constitution. After all, this proposition effectively redefines the notion of equal rights in California, something which is guaranteed in the Constitution. It will be interesting to see how this goes. I’m not a lawyer, but I do think that the passage of Proposition 8 sets a very dangerous precedent.

We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully saner heads will prevail. There’s a protest rally at the State Capital right now. I dropped off Jennifer and I was going to go myself but there was literally no parking within a half mile. And since I was going to have to leave early anyway, I just headed on home. There were hundreds of people there even half an hour before the rally began; hopefully the turnout will be huge.

It will be interesting. The gay rights movement has had decades to work on creative and snarky means of civic action within the state. I can only hope that the state gets its collective head out of its collective ass and does the right thing.

(On another note, I read a very disturbing article suggesting that African Americans in California are being targeted as scapegoats for the passage of Proposition 8. While it’s true that minorities voted overwhelmingly in favor of the initiative, I think that targeting anyone as a scapegoat is misguided and counterproductive. So if you’re doing it, stop it right now, you bad person you.)

'80 vs. '08?

Looking at the current Presidential election, I can’t help thinking of parallels with the 1980 Presidential election. Not that I remember a whole lot, since I was 12 years old at the time and more caught up in other interests besides politics, but I’ve read some history on line and I do have some memories. Consider:

  • In both years the incumbent party was saddled with a major international crisis involving the Middle East; Carter and the Democrats were facing scorn for their handling of the Iranian hostage crisis, and this year Bush and the Republicans can’t seem to get out from under the shadow of the Iraq war.
  • In both years, the main challenger to the incumbent party had a well-run and well-executed campaign, while the incumbent party’s campaign was disorganized and shoddy.
  • In both years, the main challenger was an unlikely candidate. Ronald Reagan was an actor, for crying out loud, and even though he’d served as governor of California, he was still better known as an actor, not a politician. And Barack Obama will very likely go down in history as the nation’s first African American president.
  • In both years, the incumbent party was reduced to nothing but negative campaigning. I seem to recall that Carter’s ads toward the end of the campaign focused pretty much on the fact that Reagan was an actor, not a politician. I’ve seen ads from that period and they’re pretty nasty. In 1980 this tactic arguably led to a landslide victory for Reagan, and McCain’s negative advertising will very likely lead to a landslide victory for Obama (according to many sources and in my own humble opinion).
  • Reagan seemed to be made of Teflon, and Obama does as well. And not just Teflon, but Teflon infused with heavy amounts of rubber. Not only are McCain’s charges against Obama not sticking, but they’re bouncing back and sticking to McCain himself.
  • Finally, in both years the challenger brought with them a positive message about change and renewal. Reagan’s slogan was “It’s morning in America”, and Obama’s is the inspiring “Change we can believe in”.

I’m not a political scientist or analyst by any means. These are just some random thoughts I had, and I’m interested in some feedback.

Voting No on Proposition 8

Here’s what happens if Proposition 8 fails:

  • Homosexual couples will retain the right to marry in California

Also:

  • Churches will NOT lose their tax exempt status if they choose not to perform same sex weddings

I haven’t been keeping up on the “Yes on 8” literature and advertising, but I understand that the fear of churches losing their tax exempt status if they refuse to perform same sex weddings has been the centerpiece of their campaign. It is, however, not true. In fact, from the state ruling: “no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.”

  • Schools will NOT be required to teach children about same sex marriage

Nothing in the text of Proposition 8 mentions this anyway. Nor does the ruling which legalized same sex marriage. Furthermore, California state law forbids the teaching of anything about health and family issues without their parents’ consent.

There’s quite a bit more, which you can find at the No on 8 website. Ultimately, though, the only reason to object to same sex marriage is the “ick” factor. It’s what’s driven anti-homosexual sentiments in so many societies throughout history, even in societies which were nominally atheistic (I would NOT want to be a homosexual man in China, for example, or in the Soviet Union before it collapsed). In all honesty, I get icked out by the thought of homosexual sex myself. But that does not matter. What it comes down to for me, and what it has always come down to, is that you don’t get to vote on rights in a democracy. Especially in a democracy, I would say.

Anyway. Vote no on 8.

…and while I'm at it (more politics)

May I just say that Palin’s other new tactic — implying that women who don’t vote for her are going to Hell — utterly unimpressive, and downright offensive? I suspect most of the women I know would feel the same. “There’s a special place in Hell for women who don’t support other women,” Palin said, quoting Madeline Albright. Although Albright — one of the most distinguished Secretaries of State that the US has had in recent decades — never actually said that. What she said was, “There’s a special place in Hell for women who don’t help other women.”

It’s also a very curious tactic, coming from someone who, as former mayor of the town of Wasilia, voted against a measure that would have made the police pay for rape kits and leaving that burden with the victims, and who seems to be opposed to a number of ideals which are demonstrably good for women, including proper sex education and legal abortion.

More glass houses, more stones.