December 17, 2020

This is becoming a problem - another politician ignores restrictions

How can we effectively communicate the seriousness of staying at home, wearing a mask, and social distancing when the people we elect to promote these things keep getting caught ignoring them?

https://www.newsweek.com/rhode-island-governor-attends-wine-paint-event-after-urging-people-avoid-nonessential-activities-1555672

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo was photographed last week attending a wine and paint event, just a few days after she urged the state's residents to avoid all nonessential activities amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.

According to WLNE-TV, the photo of Raimondo was taken by Erica Oliveras on December 11 while the governor and her husband, Andy Moffit, attended a wine and paint event at Barnaby's Public House in Providence.

Susan Goodman, a Providence resident, told WLNE that the governor, "shouldn't even be at an event like that."

We can't have one law for the rulers and one for the ruled. I haven't been in a sit-down restaurant since all this began. I've been vigilant. I haven't seen close friends since February.

I don't know how it is for anyone else, but here in California, people are still furious with Gavin Newsom and London Breed for ignoring restrictions after they lectured everyone else to stop their social activities.

We have to start acknowledging that too many of our prominent own are getting caught out like this and increasing skepticism, if not fueling conspiracies, that they don't actually believe in what they're instructing the average citizen.

December 15, 2020

SCOTUS declines to hear gay marriage case (this is good for us)

Even with ACB, they seem inclined to leave precedent alone for the time being.

The Supreme Court of the United States denied certiorari Monday in a case that threatened to chip away at marriage equality. The Court’s denial will disallow Indiana’s effort to discriminate against same-sex couples, and will continue to preserve the meaning of Obergefell v. Hodges.

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill (R) took the position in Box v. Henderson that same-sex spouses should not have the same rights to be listed on state-issued birth certificates as opposite-sex spouses. The case arose as the result of several lesbian couples who conceived via artificial insemination; Indiana refused to list birth mothers’ wives on their children’s official birth certificates, but regularly listed birth mothers’ husbands on birth certificates without additional requirement.

The same issue had been raised in response to Arkansas’ identical practice in Pavan v. Smith—a 2017 Supreme Court case in which the Court also sided with the same-sex parents. A few months after Pavan, a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments in Box v. Henderson. However, the Seventh Circuit waited nearly three years–in time for SCOTUS to include two Trump-appointees—before handing down a unanimous ruling in favor of the same-sex parents in Box v. Henderson.

By the time Indiana appealed its loss at the Seventh Circuit, SCOTUS would include Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and many court-watchers wondered whether the change to the bench would result in the Court’s eroding its landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to allow the discrimination Indiana sought to conduct.

https://lawandcrime.com/supreme-court/even-with-three-trump-appointed-justices-on-the-bench-scotus-declines-to-roll-back-marriage-equality/

November 4, 2020

I don't know if CNN meant this

But they cut to commercial and did the usual thing of presenting advertisers.

“Election Night in America. Brought to you by Borat!”

Dead.

November 4, 2020

The one nice thing about today? Voting went smoothly

Yes, in a nation of 340 million, there are going to be problems in this place or other. Elections are locally administered. There will be hiccups.

But after the media hyped up a Mad Max style Election Day, we’ve seen a peaceful, orderly process play out.

That is just a first step. We still have to make all those votes count. That’s a big battle.

But the casting of votes was actually almost boring today.

This is a good thing for our democracy.

October 27, 2020

Bill Maher on voter suppression

This was really good.

October 21, 2020

Pope endorses civil union laws for same-sex couples

As someone who grew up gay and Catholic, I certainly never thought I’d see this one in my lifetime. While Francis is certainly liberal for a pope, I admit, I’m (happily) stunned.

CNN) Pope Francis has declared support for civil unions for same-sex couples for the first time, according to the Catholic News Agency.

The Pope made the historic remarks in a new documentary film, "Francesco," which was released in Rome on Wednesday.

"Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They're children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it," the Pope said in the film, the Catholic News Agency reported.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/21/europe/pope-gay-couples-civil-union-intl/index.html

October 12, 2020

Does anyone else feel like America hit its limit?

It’s easy to feel pessimistic about our country. We have so much work to do.

But this month feels like we’re turning around. That we’re just done with this man and the horror the Republican Party has become. More and more, I’m hearing from people who aren’t normally invested in politics. They’re over it. There’s a sense this just cannot go on. We’re going to lance this boil on our body politic.

Joe Biden was never my guy. I’m a progressive. He was my last choice. But now? I’m excited for everything about the man. He’s going to fix this, and we’re going to help him.

October 8, 2020

He Never. Answers. The Question.

Why have a moderator at all?

October 2, 2020

I'm not going to chill until Biden tests negative

I don’t get emotional about politics. Not worth the blood pressure. I do what I can, then attend to the other parts of my life.

However, I am a ball of anxiety this morning. Biden next to that screaming idiot. And we don’t know which campaign staffers were wandering and mixing on Tuesday.

I’m not freaking out, but, “Please be fine. Please be fine. Please be fine,” has been coming up in my head several times an hour since finding out about shit heel.