Hurrah! Another defeat for opponents of gay marriage -- who in my book are bigots, plain and simple. They are no different than the supporters of segregation in the 50s. Ever heard of equal rights, folks?
I don't know how long this will last with the Supreme Court likely to take a turn toward the more conservative soon, but at least for now one attack has been deflated.
No court ruling on same-sex marriage: "'There are lots of reasons the Supreme Court could refuse to hear a case,' said Volokh, who specializes in constitutional law. 'However, in this case, it's pretty clear: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided that the Massachusetts Constitution mandates recognition of same-sex marriage, and the Massachusetts Constitution is the business of the Massachusetts courts. The US Supreme Court will not intervene on matters that have only to do with state law.'"
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Friday, November 26, 2004
Let them sing it for you
For once something not political....
Enjoy this fun little site that sings (almost) everything you type!
Let them sing it for you
Enjoy this fun little site that sings (almost) everything you type!
Let them sing it for you
Monday, November 15, 2004
Canadians urge disaffected left to elect a move north
Well, this is an alternative to Coastopia.... I think some people are taking the "love or leave it" phrase seriously! Here's an article from the Boston Globe (actually I think it is an AP story).
This isn't actually that surprising to me.... I have dreamed about this possibility.
Canadians urge disaffected left to elect a move north:
"'We started last year getting a lot of calls from Americans dissatisfied with the way the country is going,' Kischer [an imigration lawyer in Vancouver] said. 'Then after the election, it's been crazy up here. The Canadian immigration website had 115,000 hits the day after the election, from the US alone. We usually only get 20,000 hits.'
There was so much interest that a Vancouver-based Internet company, Communicopia, set up a new website this month -- www.canadianalternative.com-- to suggest Canada as a viable option for its American clients, including anyone concerned about constitutional bans on gay marriage passed in 11 states this month."
----------
I just checked out the Canadian Alternative site. Definitely worth a look!
This isn't actually that surprising to me.... I have dreamed about this possibility.
Canadians urge disaffected left to elect a move north:
"'We started last year getting a lot of calls from Americans dissatisfied with the way the country is going,' Kischer [an imigration lawyer in Vancouver] said. 'Then after the election, it's been crazy up here. The Canadian immigration website had 115,000 hits the day after the election, from the US alone. We usually only get 20,000 hits.'
There was so much interest that a Vancouver-based Internet company, Communicopia, set up a new website this month -- www.canadianalternative.com-- to suggest Canada as a viable option for its American clients, including anyone concerned about constitutional bans on gay marriage passed in 11 states this month."
----------
I just checked out the Canadian Alternative site. Definitely worth a look!
Friday, November 05, 2004
International group monitoring election
I find this kind of amusing and humbling, and I'm not sure many Americans are even aware of this.
Boston.com International group monitoring election gets mixed reception
For the first time, The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe decided that they needed to send in observers to oversee our elections. And after the 2000 election fiasco, who can blame them. We spend so much time sitting in the high seat looking at other nations' election processes; I think we need a little humbling every once in a while.
Wish we hadn't given the observers such a hard time. Makes Americans looks really snotty and conceited. Maybe we are...
Boston.com International group monitoring election gets mixed reception
For the first time, The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe decided that they needed to send in observers to oversee our elections. And after the 2000 election fiasco, who can blame them. We spend so much time sitting in the high seat looking at other nations' election processes; I think we need a little humbling every once in a while.
Wish we hadn't given the observers such a hard time. Makes Americans looks really snotty and conceited. Maybe we are...
Unilateralism
The U.S. to Recognize Ex-Yugoslav Republic as Macedonia
I think I'm glad that the former Yugoslav Republic is getting some recognition. But this was handled really poorly. As far as I can tell, this is another example of the Bush administration continuing to blunder around the world making unilateral decisions. When are we going to start trying to work with other countries and stop acting like a nasty empire.
I think I'm glad that the former Yugoslav Republic is getting some recognition. But this was handled really poorly. As far as I can tell, this is another example of the Bush administration continuing to blunder around the world making unilateral decisions. When are we going to start trying to work with other countries and stop acting like a nasty empire.
xtcian: American Coastopia!
Ah Ha! I knew that the original email had to come from the blogosphere. It didn't show up yesterday on Google, but it did today. Here's the original post by Ian Williams on his xtcian blog.
xtcian: American Coastopia!
xtcian: American Coastopia!
Thursday, November 04, 2004
So much for Bush's "Coalition"
Seems like hardly any of the country's in Bush's so-called "coalition" want to stay in Iraq -- including Poland (who Bush made a big deal about in the debates). Apart from Britain's 12,000 troups and Italy's 3,100 troups, we are pretty much alone over there. Is this really the position we want to be in? I guess the midwestern and southern voters think so.
The Allies: Hungary Joins Others in Pulling Troops From Iraq
The Allies: Hungary Joins Others in Pulling Troops From Iraq
Supreme Court Appointments
Ugh... For anyone who thoughtlessly threw away their vote on Bush, here's a taste of what the next four years are going to be like. It ain't pretty.
Here's a quote from a recent NPR report on who Bush might appoint to replace Chief Justice William Rehnquist:
"SIEGEL: And what do we know about what sort of person President Bush would likely choose to replace him?
TOTENBERG: Well, first, we know because the president has told us. He has said that he wants to appoint Supreme Court justices in the mold of the current two most conservative members of the court, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Second, the president owes a lot to the right wing of his party, particularly social conservatives who really delivered for him last night, and those folks care mightily about Supreme Court appointments. In addition, the president has a strengthened majority in the Senate on the Republican side, and, as one Democrat put it to me today, he doesn't have the restraint of an election facing him. Indeed, even when he was in a much weaker position in 2000, when he had not gotten a majority of the vote and before 9/11, he made very conservative, one might even say in some circumstances provocative, nominations to the lower courts, and he never flinched or accepted offers of compromise from the Democrats."
Here's a quote from a recent NPR report on who Bush might appoint to replace Chief Justice William Rehnquist:
"SIEGEL: And what do we know about what sort of person President Bush would likely choose to replace him?
TOTENBERG: Well, first, we know because the president has told us. He has said that he wants to appoint Supreme Court justices in the mold of the current two most conservative members of the court, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Second, the president owes a lot to the right wing of his party, particularly social conservatives who really delivered for him last night, and those folks care mightily about Supreme Court appointments. In addition, the president has a strengthened majority in the Senate on the Republican side, and, as one Democrat put it to me today, he doesn't have the restraint of an election facing him. Indeed, even when he was in a much weaker position in 2000, when he had not gotten a majority of the vote and before 9/11, he made very conservative, one might even say in some circumstances provocative, nominations to the lower courts, and he never flinched or accepted offers of compromise from the Democrats."
One Quick thing...
Dick, W... umm... lemee tell you something.
A 51% to 49% victory is not a mandate from the voters. Sorry. It's just not.
A 51% to 49% victory is not a mandate from the voters. Sorry. It's just not.
American Coastopia
I don't usually forward email messages -- I think of most forwards as a nussance. But I did like this one that just came into my inbox. So, I thought I would post it on my blog. Great to see someone else had the same idea as me. Do we have a movement here? Let's secede now! ;-)
American Coastopia!
11/2/04
Ladies and gentlemen, you needn't fret anymore. We have decided that we can't live in the United States anymore, because so many of you in the "heartland" are so full of shit. We were all going to move to various other countries, but then we thought - why should WE move?
We are tired of rednecks in Oklahoma picking the leader who will determine if it is safe for us to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. We are sick of homophobic knuckle-draggers in Wyoming contributing to the national debate on our gay marriages. So we have done the only thing we could.
We seceded.
May I present to you: AMERICAN COASTOPIA.
That's right, American Coastopia. The states of Washington, Oregon and California are joining us on one coast, and we will provide all of New England. In the middle of the country, we have taken Iowa and Illinois, mostly because we need the fine produce of Iowa's soil, and the museums in Chicago are fabulous.
What's with the other dots? Oh yes, we're taking Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina too. I'm not going to live in a country without the Tar Heels. (And Duke? You're being moved to Greensboro, just like Wake Forest was. Sorry! Assholes.)
The other dot is New Orleans, which you don't deserve. American Coastopia needs a place to gamble, and the locals want nothing to do with you. Sure, you can visit, but it isn't part of your country anymore.
I can sense your worry. Who will get all the banks? You can fucking have most of them, because we're taking downtown and midtown Manhattan back, turning the whole thing into a giant artist colony replete with movie studios and progressive think tanks. Wall Street and other financial institutions will be relocated to Charlotte, which we believe will suit your needs better. Frankly, the good folks in Manhattan are sick of being a terrorist target for your benefit.
A word about our politics. Abortions will be safe and legal in American Coastopia, and homosexual men and women will be free to marry at their discretion. We will have our own currency, and trade with any countries we want. Everyone will have health care. Everyone will have an identity card. Homelessness and unemployment will be virtually unknown. We believe in a meritocracy and a huge chasm between church and state. 100% of our cars will be hybrid by 2006.
Yes, we're taking all the people that ever created everything beautiful. Yes, we're taking all the funny people too. All the sculptors, architects, surgeons, philosophers, violinists and fishermen. You should have treated them better when you had them.
We have no pledge of allegiance, but I can say this: I am no longer from your United States of America. I belong to American Coastopia, the United States of My Friends, the Nation of Two: my wife and I. We hold our noses as we fly over you. We are sickened by the way you treat people that are different from you. The rest of the world despises America, and we don't want to be lumped in with you anymore.
Please, all of you who went to bed last night sick with worry, come to us. In American Coastopia, the light is always on, the hazelnut lattés are always hot, and we have a trundle bed for each and every one of you.
American Coastopia!
11/2/04
Ladies and gentlemen, you needn't fret anymore. We have decided that we can't live in the United States anymore, because so many of you in the "heartland" are so full of shit. We were all going to move to various other countries, but then we thought - why should WE move?
We are tired of rednecks in Oklahoma picking the leader who will determine if it is safe for us to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. We are sick of homophobic knuckle-draggers in Wyoming contributing to the national debate on our gay marriages. So we have done the only thing we could.
We seceded.
May I present to you: AMERICAN COASTOPIA.
That's right, American Coastopia. The states of Washington, Oregon and California are joining us on one coast, and we will provide all of New England. In the middle of the country, we have taken Iowa and Illinois, mostly because we need the fine produce of Iowa's soil, and the museums in Chicago are fabulous.
What's with the other dots? Oh yes, we're taking Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina too. I'm not going to live in a country without the Tar Heels. (And Duke? You're being moved to Greensboro, just like Wake Forest was. Sorry! Assholes.)
The other dot is New Orleans, which you don't deserve. American Coastopia needs a place to gamble, and the locals want nothing to do with you. Sure, you can visit, but it isn't part of your country anymore.
I can sense your worry. Who will get all the banks? You can fucking have most of them, because we're taking downtown and midtown Manhattan back, turning the whole thing into a giant artist colony replete with movie studios and progressive think tanks. Wall Street and other financial institutions will be relocated to Charlotte, which we believe will suit your needs better. Frankly, the good folks in Manhattan are sick of being a terrorist target for your benefit.
A word about our politics. Abortions will be safe and legal in American Coastopia, and homosexual men and women will be free to marry at their discretion. We will have our own currency, and trade with any countries we want. Everyone will have health care. Everyone will have an identity card. Homelessness and unemployment will be virtually unknown. We believe in a meritocracy and a huge chasm between church and state. 100% of our cars will be hybrid by 2006.
Yes, we're taking all the people that ever created everything beautiful. Yes, we're taking all the funny people too. All the sculptors, architects, surgeons, philosophers, violinists and fishermen. You should have treated them better when you had them.
We have no pledge of allegiance, but I can say this: I am no longer from your United States of America. I belong to American Coastopia, the United States of My Friends, the Nation of Two: my wife and I. We hold our noses as we fly over you. We are sickened by the way you treat people that are different from you. The rest of the world despises America, and we don't want to be lumped in with you anymore.
Please, all of you who went to bed last night sick with worry, come to us. In American Coastopia, the light is always on, the hazelnut lattés are always hot, and we have a trundle bed for each and every one of you.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Boing Boing's take on the elections
I have to agree with Xeni Jardin's take on this one. A nice assessment of where this country is going under Bush here too.
Boing Boing: Kerry concedes.
Boing Boing: Kerry concedes.
Hillary Clinton in 2008
I'm really trying to see the silver lining. Really really...
Maybe now Hillary has a chance in 2008. That's the buzz from this Boston Globe article anyway.
Result may be key for Hillary Clinton
Though I really do want this to happen, it's still really hard to find any silver lining today. Sigh.
Maybe now Hillary has a chance in 2008. That's the buzz from this Boston Globe article anyway.
Result may be key for Hillary Clinton
Though I really do want this to happen, it's still really hard to find any silver lining today. Sigh.
William Shatner and Ben Folds?
OK, so I'm going to try to be cheerier now... though it's really hard!
Anyway, here's an interesting article from the Globe. As a closet-trekky and and an open Ben Fold's fan, I find this bizarre musical collaboration between the songwriter and William Shatner both intriguing and baffling.
There are links to three of the songs from the CD. Unfortunately, I am at work now, so I can't listen.
Shatner boldly goes back into the studio
Anyway, here's an interesting article from the Globe. As a closet-trekky and and an open Ben Fold's fan, I find this bizarre musical collaboration between the songwriter and William Shatner both intriguing and baffling.
There are links to three of the songs from the CD. Unfortunately, I am at work now, so I can't listen.
Shatner boldly goes back into the studio
Who are these people?
The election map tells us a lot about this country and who chooses the President. Personally, I am furious that in a year where everyone's concerned about security, the parts of the nation that are most likely to be attacked seem to have little voice in this election.
Who has a real understanding about what it means to be under threat of attack in this country? Texas? Kentucky? Kansas? Utah? No -- Washington DC, New York, Boston, LA.... these are the real targets. These cities and the states they belong to voted for Kerry, but their opinions mean little to the rest of the country. Instead, this country's leadership has been high-jacked by the most provincial parts of this country, by voters who are nowhere near a city or port that has ties to the international community. Why should they have so much power to make decisions about national security? They clearly don't understand what needs to be done in this country.
So where do we go from here? We will continue to see Americans killed in Iraq and that country will be further plunged into chaos and turmoil. Korea will develop nuclear weapons unchecked. The United States will become more isolated in the international community -- which will lead toward more violence against our country. At home, we will see health care costs continue to sky rocket. The working class and the middle class will suffer further under Bush's economic policies. (Who are his tax cuts really aimed at, after all.) The federal deficit will grow. More conservative judges will be appointed to the supreme court and make decisions that are one-sided and not right for this country.
I ask you, what were these voters thinking? Who are these people? If the middle of this nation really wants this cretin, I wish the Northeast and West Coast could just say, "Fine, you can have him.... you all be your own country.... we secede."
Who has a real understanding about what it means to be under threat of attack in this country? Texas? Kentucky? Kansas? Utah? No -- Washington DC, New York, Boston, LA.... these are the real targets. These cities and the states they belong to voted for Kerry, but their opinions mean little to the rest of the country. Instead, this country's leadership has been high-jacked by the most provincial parts of this country, by voters who are nowhere near a city or port that has ties to the international community. Why should they have so much power to make decisions about national security? They clearly don't understand what needs to be done in this country.
So where do we go from here? We will continue to see Americans killed in Iraq and that country will be further plunged into chaos and turmoil. Korea will develop nuclear weapons unchecked. The United States will become more isolated in the international community -- which will lead toward more violence against our country. At home, we will see health care costs continue to sky rocket. The working class and the middle class will suffer further under Bush's economic policies. (Who are his tax cuts really aimed at, after all.) The federal deficit will grow. More conservative judges will be appointed to the supreme court and make decisions that are one-sided and not right for this country.
I ask you, what were these voters thinking? Who are these people? If the middle of this nation really wants this cretin, I wish the Northeast and West Coast could just say, "Fine, you can have him.... you all be your own country.... we secede."
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