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He’s my favoritest President ever!

He collects comic books! Glee! Of course, it’s Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian — but I can live with that. Excelcior! Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know…

He collects comic books! Glee!

Of course, it’s Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian — but I can live with that. Excelcior!

Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know – Telegraph 

A few choice ones:

  • His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
  • He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker
  • He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry
  • His speciality as a cook is chilli
  • He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed
  • He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can’t stand ice cream

I was with him unti the ice cream …

Rolling back the past four years, rolling toward the future

Thank God someone was taking notes. Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone…

Thank God someone was taking notes.

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

A team of four dozen advisers, working for months in virtual solitude, set out to identify regulatory and policy changes Obama could implement soon after his inauguration. The team is now consulting with liberal advocacy groups, Capitol Hill staffers and potential agency chiefs to prioritize those they regard as the most onerous or ideologically offensive, said a top transition official who was not permitted to speak on the record about the inner workings of the transition.

What kind of stuff? How about the global “gag rule”?

The new president is also expected to lift a so-called global gag rule barring international family planning groups that receive U.S. aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, even in countries where the procedure is legal, said Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, he rescinded the Reagan-era regulation, known as the Mexico City policy, but Bush reimposed it.

 

Or giving California it’s head on anti-global warming efforts?

The president-elect has said, for example, that he intends to quickly reverse the Bush administration’s decision last December to deny California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. “Effectively tackling global warming demands bold and innovative solutions, and given the failure of this administration to act, California should be allowed to pioneer,” Obama said in January.

California had sought permission from the Environmental Protection Agency to require that greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles be cut by 30 percent between 2009 and 2016, effectively mandating that cars achieve a fuel economy standard of at least 36 miles per gallon within eight years. Seventeen other states had promised to adopt California’s rules, representing in total 45 percent of the nation’s automobile market. Environmentalists cheered the California initiative because it would stoke innovation that would potentially benefit the entire country.

“An early move by the Obama administration to sign the California waiver would signal the seriousness of intent to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and build a future for the domestic auto market,” said Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

And on stem cell research.

Obama himself has signaled, for example, that he intends to reverse Bush’s controversial limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, a decision that scientists say has restrained research into some of the most promising avenues for defeating a wide array of diseases, such as Parkinson’s.

Bush’s August 2001 decision pleased religious conservatives who have moral objections to the use of cells from days-old human embryos, which are destroyed in the process.

But Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said that during Obama’s final swing through her state in October, she reminded him that because the restrictions were never included in legislation, Obama “can simply reverse them by executive order.” Obama, she said, “was very receptive to that.” Opponents of the restrictions have already drafted an executive order he could sign.

 

The Obama campaign has plenty to do to set its own vision. But a big part of what it got elected for is rolling back the goofiness of the last eight years of the Bush Administration. I look forward to it

Obama Night pictures

President-elect Obama has released (released, heck, he’s allowed them to be posted on Flickr) pictures taken by David Katz of the Obama campaign of the family on Election Night. Y’know,…

President-elect Obama has released (released, heck, he’s allowed them to be posted on Flickr) pictures taken by David Katz of the Obama campaign of the family on Election Night.

Y’know, there may be a lot of glitz and glamor to the high-flying politician’s life — but there’s also a lot of entering buildings via loading docks, and spending waaaaaay too much time in hotel rooms (even nicely appointed ones with huge-screen TVs) and sitting around all dressed up waiting for your cue.

I hope it’s worth it.

An interesting look behind the scenes.

Tit for Tat

After Colorado passed Amendment 2 (I think it was) a while back, a lot of folks found the state-approved homophobia so off-putting that Colorado ended up losing a lot of…

After Colorado passed Amendment 2 (I think it was) a while back, a lot of folks found the state-approved homophobia so off-putting that Colorado ended up losing a lot of tourist dollars due to organizations and individuals canceling conferences and tourism packages here.

While some have suggested that something similar might happen to California, I doubt it — the state is simply too big and important to be shunned. There were other places besides Colorado to go skiing — Utah, for example — while there are too many aspects of California that simply cannot be bypassed. Not to say that the state might not suffer for its majority decision, but it won’t be through boycotts.

Utah, on the other hand, is home to the LDS Church, which coordinated plowing massive amounts of its followers time and money toward Proposition 8’s passage. Up to 80% of the money raised for Prop 8 came from Mormons, and while California has a sizeable Mormon population, a lot of that came from Utah.

So now Utah might find that there are other places for tourists to go for skiing — Colorado, for example. More importantly, some folks are arguing that the active role that the LDS Church took in the Amendment 8 battle might well have violated their IRS standing as a tax-exempt institution. That seems a bit out there at the moment — but it will be interesting to see how the argument progresses.

One thing for certain: I expect there will be unexpected repercussions of the vote.

Yes We Did

Get a free “Yes We Did” Obama sticker from Moveon.org (or spend a small amount and get many more). A singleton’s free, even the shipping. The sticker is from…

Get a free “Yes We Did” Obama sticker from Moveon.org (or spend a small amount and get many more). A singleton’s free, even the shipping.

The sticker is from Shepard Fairey, who designed the Obama “HOPE” poster. A very nice, retro design.

Just don’t taunt people with it, okay? 🙂

(Thanks, Amanda!)

What’s blue and red and purple all over?

Thanks to Paul for reminding me again of M E J Newman’s site, which I visited back in 2004, where he makes some lovely maps and cartograms of the election results. In…

Thanks to Paul for reminding me again of M E J Newman’s site, which I visited back in 2004, where he makes some lovely maps and cartograms of the election results. In the case shown here, it’s based on county voting counts, blending blue vs red, and size adjusted for population.

The result shows … a lot of mixed areas, and another argument against the “GOP as a Regional Party” meme.

We’re all in this (and mixed up) together.

The shifting party lines

I’m not ready to call the GOP a “regional” party yet … but this sure does look like the, ahem, “Squirrel Meat Belt.” (via DKos)   …

I’m not ready to call the GOP a “regional” party yet … but this sure does look like the, ahem, “Squirrel Meat Belt.”

(via DKos) 

 

And now … the second-guessing begins

So now that Obama’s elected, the news cycles turn to … who will he choose for which positions? Advisors, counsellors, cabinet officers … it seems everyone has a list…

So now that Obama’s elected, the news cycles turn to … who will he choose for which positions? Advisors, counsellors, cabinet officers … it seems everyone has a list of who they want to see, and who they don’t want to see there.

Which, frankly, will be a great way for Obama to get a preview of the criticism he will face for every decision he makes for the next eight years.

Face it — we elected Barack Obama. We did not elect

Rahm Emanuel, et al. So everyone Obama picks will be someone that some Obama supporter has something to criticize about. 

Especially since anyone that he picks will have some past Administration track record, probably some consultant / lobbyist / business association that is dubious — or, lacking that, has no Washington experience, which is itself subject to criticism.

So I’m not going to do a bunch of rumor-swapping or second-guessing of who he picks. Rather, I’ll (gasp) wait for the actual policies and governmental actions to start taking place. Those will mean more than the relative resumes of who the person I elected decides to put forward.

The proof of the pudding is in the governing. I trusted Obama enough to choose his own campaign team. I trusted Obama enough to elect him. I can trust him enough to choose good people to be around him. For the time being, at least.

Fighting Proposition 8

The battle against Prop. 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban gay marriage, is not over. From Gloria Allred (emphasis mine): On May 15, 2008, after we waged a…

The battle against Prop. 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban gay marriage, is not over. From Gloria Allred (emphasis mine):

On May 15, 2008, after we waged a four year long legal battle we finally won a landmark victory in the California Supreme Court for same gender couples who wished to marry in California.

Last night, opponents sought to reverse that decision with Proposition 8 in which they once again sought to restrict legal marriage to a man and a woman. That Proposition appears to have passed by a narrow margin.

As a result, today we will file a writ with the California Supreme Court on behalf of Robin Tyler and her spouse, Diane Olson, challenging its constitutionality on several grounds. In our case in May, the California Supreme Court ruled that the Equal protection clause in our California Constitution protects the rights of lesbians and gays to marry the person of their choice and the court, for the first time, recognized homosexuality as a “suspect classification” under the equal protection clause of our state constitution, thereby requiring a strict scrutiny test which test was not and cannot be met (the court so held) in marriages limited to a man and a woman. Prop 8, if it passes, conflicts with the equal protection clause. If marriage is now limited to straight couples and excludes gay couples then it is inconsistent and in conflict with the equal protection clause. We will argue to the court that Prop 8 is a disguised revision to the constitution which cannot be imposed by the ordinary amendment process, which only requires a simple majority. We believe that then the court must hold that California may not issue marriage licenses to non-gay couples because if it does it would be violating the equal protection clause as straight couples would have more rights by being allowed to marry than gay couples.

If Prop 8 had said that the California constitution was amended to limit marriage to people of the same race only, would that be constitutional under our state constitution? Of course not as it would violate the equal protection clause and the seminal case of Perez v. Sharp which the Supreme court decided sixty years ago.

We will also argue that Prop 8 improperly revises the Supreme Court’s recent opinion defining the constitutional fundamental right of marriage The state constitution provides that revisions to the constitution requires a 2/3 vote of the legislature or the convening of a state constitutional convention, and a proposition requiring only 50% is not available to the electorate to accomplish the revision to our equal protection clause.

Lastly, the constitutional requirement of separation of powers, we will argue, does not permit the use of the Proposition format to remove and /or circumvent the judiciary in determining the interpretation of what is or is not a fundamental liberty right and who is and who is not protected by the equal protection clause.

The apparent passage of Prop 8 in California has been a heartbreaking experience for our clients, Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, and millions of other same gender couples who have married or wish to marry in California and throughout the nation. All they have asked for is equal rights under the law and equal respect and dignity for their families and their committed relationships.

Our law firm is honored to continue this great civil rights battle for them. We will never give in and we will never give up. We will continue to be the change we wish to see in the world and we will never have another season of silence until same gender couples enjoy the same rights as non-gay couples on this green earth.

 

An interesting argument. I’m not a constitutional scholar (esp. regarding the California state constitution), but it certainly sounds like a plausible argument.

(via Les and AMERICAblog)

Sowing, reaping

I haven’t looked up any articles on it, but Margie mentioned last night that the change in Administrations — and Parties — in the White House is causing no end of…

I haven’t looked up any articles on it, but Margie mentioned last night that the change in Administrations — and Parties — in the White House is causing no end of trouble for the Republicans in DC who are having to move somewhere else … at the bottom of the DC housing market, when their houses/condos are worth diddly and sales are flat.

Maybe some up-and-coming Democrats can help take those off their hands …

A question of election protocol

So I’m a big believer in not lording it over others (or being unrepentantly sulky) when it comes to bumper stickers and lawn signs viz elections. I find people…

So I’m a big believer in not lording it over others (or being unrepentantly sulky) when it comes to bumper stickers and lawn signs viz elections. I find people still roaming around with “W/04!” or “Kerry/Edwards” bumper stickers to be folks spending too much time looking backwards (with snarkiness or bitterness) rather than looking forward.

I’ve pulled the Obama/Biden lawn sign out from the front, but I’m pondering the bumper stickers. I think it’s okay through the actual inauguration, as part of the celebration, though not after that, but I’m not 100% sure. I don’t think it comes across too much as “Neener-neener, we won!” (vs. “Huzzah, we won!”).

And, then, of course, there’s the blog sidebar …

Yes, I ponder about these things.

Tales from the Fringe

 Les goes where most sane people dare not … to the web pages of the Free Republic, to see how they’re taking the Obama win. Sadly … not too…

 Les goes where most sane people dare not … to the web pages of the Free Republic, to see how they’re taking the Obama win. Sadly … not too well.

Welcome to Obamanation by SFC MAC

Looks like the ACORN cheating paid off. This newly anointed moron will make Jimmy Carter and Bubba Clinton’s disastrous domestic policies, foreign policy debacles, and malicious pursuit to eviscerate the military, pale in comparison.

No self-respecting democratic Republic will give legitimacy to a socialist president, but then no self-respecting democratic Republic would permit someone like Obama to be a Senator, let alone presidential candidate.

The bulk of the ‘first time voters’ were bribed skid row drunks, college-aged kids who cast their ballot for an MTV icon, and blacks who voted for Obama because of his ethnicity. Then there are the requisite liberals–black, white, and hispanic–who will vote for a democrat, regardless. It was no landslide–the popular vote was close-51.3 percent to 47.5 percent–but it demonstrates that at least 51.3 percent of these voters have no problem with defecating on their own country.

[…] I live in Lorain, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. The entire region of NE Ohio has been a democratic cesspool for decades, and the union hacks just don’t understand why the Steel Mill and the Ford Plant are virtual ghost towns. It’s fucking depressing to see how dilapidated Lorain has become. They really think that Mr. Hopey Changytude will rob the ‘evil, oppressive, rich, white’ corporations, and come through the neighborhood with a sack full of money like a ghetto Santa Claus. Trouble is, these leeches are used to sucking off of the public teat. Why work at all when the Democrats force taxpayers to foot the bill?

I’m a retired U.S. Soldier. I AM Joe the Plumber. I’m sick to death of moonbats flinging the race card because they’ve run out of excuses for lazy, unmotivated, professional welfare recipients who blame everything on their skin color. Speaking of which, their boy Obama sat in a church for 20 years listening to the very wealthy Rev Jeremiah (god-damn America) Wright spew all kinds of hateful racist crap against ‘whitey’ and Jews. Wright will probably pick up where he left off.

[…] Our war against Islamofacism will likely suffer, if not grind to a halt. American troops who fought so valiantly in the region of the world that breeds the terrorists who attacked this country, will now be forbidden to do what it takes to accomplish the mission and prosecuted for doing so.

The Eurotrash, North Korea, China, Venezuela, and Islamic comrades (Iran, in particular) are rejoicing in this latest tragicomic episode in American politics. We are now saddled with a corrupt, socialist, terrorist cavorting, narcissistic charlatan, who suits their agenda. Obamabots placed all of their faith and adoration into an empty suit with serious defects.

Obama will kowtow to all of the world’s malefactors, fulfilling his promise to ‘negotiate without pre-conditions’. To all the asshatswho foolishly believe that being a pliant doormat will somehow make the United States a more “moral, respected, endearing, popular, positive role model”, brace yourselves. It will only serve to encourage hostile nations, Islamic ones in particular, to take advantage of a deteriorated American political and economic system, rife with Democratic milksops. All in the name of ‘world image’.

[…]We will demand that Obama and his ACORN gang be brought to justice for voter fraud, racketeering, and abuse of law enforcement through intimidation of critics. The laws they broke during this campaign were blatant, numerous, and sanctioned by Obama and his staff. The Department of Justice needs to get off its complacent ass and go after internal threats for a change.

We will be unrelenting in our call for the investigation of radical miscreants like William Ayers, and prosecution of any and all militant Islamic individuals, groups, and sects, including CAIR, Nation of Islam, and the AAAN (Arab American Action Network). They shouldn’t be allowed in this country to begin with, and the State Department needs to be held accountable for their presence.

We will continue to hammer the MSM leftwing mouthpeices–MSNBC, ABC, MBC, ABC, and CNN–for their rancid anti-American bias. We’ll also make sure the Democrat effetes in Congress and Senate, who got placed there by equally unconscionable constituents, continue to get the hell they so richly deserve.

We won’t forget which traitors in the Democratic party and the MSM prostituted themselves through word and deed, to the Islamofascists and the world’s Bolsheviks, because their hatred for the military, this country, and Republicans, overrides any sense of loyalty.

You don’t need to question their patriotism when they show a complete lack of it on their own.

A special note to you Hollywood leftwingnuts like Whoopie Goldberg, Alec Baldwin, Akon, Babs Streisand, et al, who threatened to, but did not, leave the country for the last 2 elections if George Bush became President: You now have an excuse to stick around and run your mouths for at least 4 years before we kick your Obamessiah out of office.

We will be just as ‘civil’ and ‘respectful’ to an Obamanation administration as the frothing leftwing moonbats “tolerant, even-minded liberals” were during 8 years of the Bush administration.

Welcome to 4 years of a Socialist America.

Just don’t expect the rest of us to follow suit.

Now, to be fair, I recall similar over-the-top rhetoric from folks on the Far Left about Bush winning in ’04 (and ’00). Of course, I look at where we are now, vs. where we were then, and wonder if they weren’t correct.

AMERIDATE: 0001 PSUA…POST SOCIALIST UTOPIAN AGE

When I went to bed last night I was an American; I woke this morning a man with no country, no leader, no direction, and no purpose. I did not leave my country, my country abandoned me.

Jesus asked his Father to “forgive them for they know NOT what they do.” I am not Jesus and will NOT forgive the murder of a country that I once fought for and was willing to die for, that country no longer exists, a breed of americans (note lower case) have beaten it down and traded it for trinkets worth less than the beads that bought Manhattan Island so long ago.

Do you liberals REALLY believe you are going to get all these things the Boober promised you? Do you think this Muslim-Marxist mutant mole cares about you and wants to shower you with benefits and free money?

WHO ARE YOU?

Where did the Americans go? I don’t know the people who put this phlegm-wad in office. Who the hell are you and what did you do with my country? I do not know you, BUT I WILL. I know where to look for you.

What makes you think you deserve this country? You didn’t bleed for her, you didn’t invest in her spiritually, you mocked her and chastised her even as she sheltered you and kept you safe and warm. Because you did not have the courage and backbone to stand up and fight to save her you have no claim to her future, such as it is, such as it shall become I fear.

I find it ironic that the government which used to pay me combat and flight pay, gave me a weapon and told me to shoot communists has now become that which I used to destroy. This is a journey no man, no warrior should ever have to take, yet here we are, day one of a brazen new world couched in racism and empty rhetoric and worshipped by men and women who are not worth the powder and shot it would take to blow them all to glory. What a long strange trip it has been too.

WHY?

There are many reasons no one reason is a complete telling of this tale. We could analyze the election, the candidates, the tactics and so on and in the end solve nothing…WHY is a luxury we cannot afford yet must pony up to pay for when the bill comes due.

The main reason WHY in a word: APATHY.

We allowed this scum to build up in the filters until it choked the engine to silent sputters then we ignored it until it died. Why is unimportant now, all we are left with is the WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

A brother in ink newsletter writer told me last year..

But, Bean, IT IS ALL OUR OWN DAMN FAULT!

Yes JakSavin, it is our fault. We didn’t care enough to safeguard her, we didn’t believe she was vulnerable and didn’t…scratch that..WOULDN’T see the danger. Well,…do you see it now? You will very soon if not tonight, next week or next month.

How does it feel to watch our own complacency eat our nations guts from the inside out? Was your apathy worth the trade you made?

Tonight I mourn for my brothers on the Wall in Washington, tonight they died again. There are millions of dead men walking around tonight that don’t even know they’re dead yet, are you one of them? I share the blame, I could have fought harder, I could have sounded the alarm, I could have thrown rocks at the son of a bitch if nothing else but I too was asleep. I believed in and cast my faith to the American people, a people who have proven unworthy of keeping the grand republic we inherited through the blood sweat and trials of our fathers and their fathers fathers fathers fathers…as far back as there was a nation called America. YOU gave it away, I gave it away.

Now…what are you and I going to do about it? They taught me in Jungle Evasion and Survival training school that the best time to plan an escape is early in your captivity so you still have the strength and will to carry it out, time plays FOR the captors and works against the prisoners. Are you going to roll over and play possum? Wait till the sun shines Nelly..by and by?

GENERIX

The most vulnerable of the legs which this beast stand on is the media. Oh, yeah, I’ve been hammering these useless pieces of dog crap since 2003 but I’m not done with these weasels yet.

Unless you are blind or have been living in a cave for five years you have seen the press and talking heads thoroughly tattooed to O’Boober’s hip, in lock step and pushing him every yard of the way. This PERSON would not even be recognized let alone elected without the strong voice of the media behind him.

So here’s something we can do, it will take a concentrated effort and may require some small sacrifice but at this time, it’s the only weapon we have.

First you must commit to buying and using ONLY generic products. Write a letter to each network and news show tell them I WILL NOT BUY ANY PRODUCT ADVERTISED ON OR SPONSORING YOUR SHOW, NONE..ZERO. Then write the sponsors and tell them the same thing, make sure they understand the connection between the advertising dollars, their grossly slanted journalism, and YOUR power as a consumer to NOT buy their products thereby cutting off the advertising dollars and the operating funds that pay their salaries.

This applies to automobiles too…if you were going to buy a new Ford, buy instead a year old Ford from a private owner or used car lot PUT NO MONEY IN THE POCKETS OF COMPANIES THAT SPONSOR THIS FIFTH COLUMN REPORTING. The effect will not be immediate but hang in for the long haul and punish the sponsors and dollars that put this un-American slug in office and it WILL have an effect. IT IS VITAL THAT YOU MAINTAIN CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE NETWORKS AND THE SPONSORS SO COUNT ON SPENDING SOME MONEY IN POSTAGE…E MAILS DON’T WORK DON’T WASTE THE ELECTRONS EVEN SENDING E MAILS.

This must start as an organized grassroots movement with the purpose of disabling the liberals “bully pulpit” and putting the newsies on defensive for a change.

We’ll work on the rest once we get this piece started and we have to start somewhere and soon. Are you a warrior or a possum? an American or a “citizen of the greater world?” Your call, I know what I’m going to do GENERIX.

Beansimple said it, what are you going to do now, fight or flee?

and above all
think for yourself and pray for our nation

And there’s more. Much, sadly, more. 

Colorado Ballot Propositions – Recap

For the most part, my vote “No” was echoed by most Colorado voters. My vote [State vote]  * AMENDMENT 46 – Colorado Civil Rights Initiative – Would prohibit the state from granting…

For the most part, my vote “No” was echoed by most Colorado voters. My vote [State vote] 

* AMENDMENT 46 – Colorado Civil Rights Initiative – Would prohibit the state from granting preferential treatment to anyone on the basis of race, sex or ethnicity in hiring, education and contracts. Poorly written and , to my mind, premature (albeit in a perfect world it would make great sense, and thus be unnecessary). No. [NO 50.4% — too close to call?] 

* AMENDMENT 47 – Right to work – Would outlaw agreements requiring workers covered by union contracts to pay fees for representation. Again, in a perfect world, “forced-unionism” wouldn’t be necessary. As it is, all those folks professing love and sympathy for the poor workers who have to pay union fees are the sort of folks that unions were designed to address.  Definitely No. [NO 55%] 

* AMENDMENT 48 – Definition of person – Would ban abortion by defining personhood as beginning at fertilization. If you want to ban abortion, then be up front and ban it, don’t play with semantics. Definitely No. [NO, 73%] 

* AMENDMENT 49 – Allowable Government Paycheck Deductions – Would ban governments from taking deductions directly from employee paychecks for any nongovernmental special interest group. Read: union dues. No. [NO, 60%] 

* AMENDMENT 50 – Limited Gaming in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek – Would allow casino towns to vote on whether to increase bet limits to $100 from $5, expand hours of operation and add games. While I’m philosophically inclined to allow it, there’s no convincing argument made that it’s necessary to vote yes.  No. [YES 59%] 

* AMENDMENT 51 – Sales tax for disabled services – Would increase the state sales tax (by 2 cents on every $10) to fund services for those with developmental disabilities. I’m certainly in favor of funding services for those with developmental disabilities. A state constitutional amendment for a sales tax increase? Bad way to do it. No. [NO 63%] 

* AMENDMENT 52 – Use of Severance Tax Revenue for Highways – Would allocate more severance tax money to transportation. Instead of water projects? Stupid. No. [NO 64%] 

* AMENDMENT 54 – Campaign Contributions from Certain Government Contractors – Would bar sole-source government contractors and unions with exclusive bargaining powers from making contributions to political candidates. Wow, what’s that, three anti-union measures on the ballot? There’s something to be said for some of the provisions here, but it’s a ham-handed approach, and doesn’t prove its case. No. [YES 52%] 

* AMENDMENT 58 – Severance taxes on the Oil and Natural Gas Industry – Would reduce energy company tax breaks and use revenue to pay for college scholarships and other programs. Explain to me again why are we subsidizing energy companies? Yes. [NO 69%] 

* AMENDMENT 59 – Education Funding and TABOR Rebates – Would lift constitutional limits on state spending and direct additional revenue into an education fund. I’m no TABOR fan, but this one hasn’t convinced me. No. [NO 59%] 

* REFERENDUM L: Would lower the age of a candidate for the Colorado House and Senate from 25 to 21. Let the voters decide. Yes. [NO 54%] 

* REFERENDUM M – Would eliminate obsolete provisions in the state constitution about land value increases. It’s not clear they are all that obsolete. No. [YES 62%] 

* REFERENDUM N: – Would eliminate obsolete provisions in the constitution about intoxicating liquor. In this case, there’s no reason for the provisions. Yes. [YES 69%] 

* REFERENDUM O: Would increase the number of signatures required on petitions for constitutional amendments to at least 6 percent of votes cast in the previous election for governor. Retains citizen initiatives but makes constitutional changes a bit harder. Yes. [NO 53%] 

So I actually ended up with a pretty good percentage matching the overall vote, and there aren’t any where I “lost” that I feel particularly bitter or angsty about. That’s sort of a welcome change.

With an admixture of sadness

Despite the general good news with political races around the nation, gay-related ballot initiatives generally came down anti-gay. In Arizona, the same-sex marriage ban appears to be passing. With 99%…

Despite the general good news with political races around the nation, gay-related ballot initiatives generally came down anti-gay.

In Arizona, the same-sex marriage ban appears to be passing. With 99% of precincts reporting, the results were 56% to 44%. This initiative is currently projected to win; this is an initiative that needed 50% plus one vote  pass — the state itself was called for Obama.

In Arkansas, the ban on gay and lesbian couples adopting children appears to be passing. With 96% of precincts reporting, the results were 57% to 43%. As of this moment, this initiative has been called; this was an initiative that needed 50% plus one vote  pass — the state itself was called for McCain.

In Florida, the same-sex marriage ban appears to be passing. With 99% of precincts reporting, the results were 62% to 38%. As of this moment, this initiative has been called; this was a constitutional amendment that needed 60% of the votes to pass — the state itself was called for Obama.

 

And in California, it appears that Prop 8, enshrining marriage discrimination into the state constitution, has passed, 52-48%.

Pam points out this juxtaposition (emphasis mine):

Here in my  odd world of California, there is a weird comparison of initiatives between California initiatives can be made between Propositions 2 and 8.

Proposition 2 is an initiative that was described in the initiative as follows:

 

The purpose of this Act is to prohibit the cruel confinement of farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs.

So in my mind, perhaps the saddest commentary on “liberal” Californians sense of equality and fairness is to say that in my home state where, to this point, 63.3% of its voters found the mistreatment of farm animals something worthy of being legislated against, and 52.8% of voters believed eliminating the fundamental right of gays and lesbians to marry worthy of a state constitutional amendment.

Whether or not Proposition 8 ends up being defeated or being approved by California voters, one way to look at the Prop 8 vote is in light of the Proposition 2 vote. And that is that a larger percentage of Californians are against mistreating farm animals in hoow these animals are caged than are against mistreating gay and lesbian human beings by eliminating their fundamental marriage rights. Put simply, If one evaluates by the votes cast and the percentages of the votes cast, the rights of farm animals appear to be more important to Californians than the rights of gay and lesbian human beings.

That’s really sad.

It’s … over?

(via Doyce)…

(via Doyce)

Family time in the White House

One of the small — yet not so small — aspects of the Obama campaign that I dearly love is the Obama family dynamic. He and Michelle are clearly close,…

obama-family

One of the small — yet not so small — aspects of the Obama campaign that I dearly love is the Obama family dynamic. He and Michelle are clearly close, shown by their looks, their words, their actual touching of each other. And they and their children are tight-knit, too, with love and banter back and forth amongst them. 

We’ve had a chance to see this without it being exploitative, and I look very much forward to having a close couple, a close family (with young children!) in the White House for years to come.

Talk about a lesson for America.

Election 2008 recap

I was home sick, but I had my Obama “Progress” t-shirt on and was ready to watch the results obsessively. I wrote down the cable numbers for the local and…

I was home sick, but I had my Obama “Progress” t-shirt on and was ready to watch the results obsessively.

I wrote down the cable numbers for the local and cable news station. We probably ended up watching MSNBC most, but I thought CNN had the best screen graphics and “interface.” BBC America was also quite good, tackling the whole thing from an outsider’s perspective (politely puzzled about some of the zanier aspects of Election Day).

(We did watch the Comedy Central “Indecision 2008” special with Colbert and Stewart — oddly enough, it wasn’t nearly as funny as their nightly election coverage has been.)

Margie hugged the computer, monitoring results at various sites she tended to visit. Her favorite during the season has been 538, for all its geeky-stats goodness.

Kitten manned her map blanket, with piles of red- and blue-labeled candy to mark off states.

Margie also served us up a very nice home made onion soup for dinner.

When Ohio went with Obama, we broke out the champagne. There’s a nice irony there. We poured some for the three of us, adding a bit of mango nectar to Kitten’s (though she still didn’t like it).

I stayed up through McCain’s concession speech (well said, and certainly better than the rude audience in Phoenix warrented), and through Obama’s victory speech.

It’s hard to believe it’s over. It’s even harder to believe that My Guy won.

Why didn’t McCain win?

It was interesting listening to the talking heads over the evening, especially the GOP analysts (when they weren’t being rude and bitchy to the reporters, like John Bolton was on…

It was interesting listening to the talking heads over the evening, especially the GOP analysts (when they weren’t being rude and bitchy to the reporters, like John Bolton was on BBCa). Their analysis of the defeat was basically three things:

  1. The “environment,” in particular the financial/economic collapse/crisis. 
  2. Bush.
  3. Not going aggressive enough soon enough.

In other words, nothing to do with McCain or Palin.

To which I say, bushwah.

The GOP, to win, has to do two things: hold the “base” and make folks in the undecided / uncommitted center flip. This is extraordinarily difficult to do, since the red-meat sorts of stuff that will get the base salivating is exactly the sort of thing that can be really scary to the center.

McCain’s campaign tried to play it that way, nonetheless, appealing to the Right and hoping to get enough from the Middle. They failed. They were so afraid that the Right wouldn’t come along with them (what were they going to do, vote Obama? Let Obama win?) that they spent too much time and political capital trying to be the Candidate of the Right. And the Candidate of the Right cannot win with just that base, any more than Obama could win as just a Candidate of the Left.

McCain, coming in as the GOP choice, had some distinct advantages here, all of which he threw away:

1. He was perceived as a moderate/maverick. This was scary and offputting to the Social Conservatives, but garnered tremendous support among the “traditional” Republicans and the centrists. But despite chanting “Maverick” like a mantra, he proceeded to do everything that the Far Right wanted as far as talking points and, ultimately, his VP selection. 

He also failed to demonstrate (in the face of Democratic attacks on the basis) that he was independent of Bush. The analysts are right as far as Bush being an anchor around his neck, but it was an anchor he placed there himself, that he wasn’t able to take off, and that the Dems quite effectively kept pointing at.

Finally, despite his actions in the past that showed (he claimed) his ability to reach across the aisles and work together with others, his increasing vilification of his opponents made that seem more and more problematic — especially since he wasn’t willing to offend his conservative base that hated his reaching across the aisle (e.g., McCain-Feingold).

2. He was perceived as an experienced leader. For all his “steady hand at the tiller” rhetoric, McCain never, under the campaign spotlight, came across as a leader that folks would follow. Changes in campaign management, changes in strategies and attacks, suspending his campaign for the economic crisis but not really contributing much to its short-term solution … he came across, instead, as temperamental and erratic.

And here’s where Palin comes in. As a man of long experience in the Senate, with all these great credentials, a powerful leader, a wise statesman … he chose an insular ditz from Alaska solely (it seemed) for political reasons. And it’s not like he chose her to be a cabinet secretary or something — he chose her has his potential replacement. It was a massive failure of leadership. While the GOP pundits still claim that nobody votes based on the VP, take a look at the the endorsements of Obama I linked to over the past few weeks, especially the Republican “defectors” — every single one points out Palin as the first and greatest failure of leadership and judgment on McCain’s part.

3. He was perceived as an honorable guy. From his POW days, to the contemptible way that he was assaulted in the 2000 election, to his come-back kid tale during the GOP primaries, McCain was seen as a man of determination and honor, and the media just loved him.

Then he tossed it all aside. He hammered on the POW experience until it became as much a joke as Giuliani’s “9-11!” mantra. He shut out the media, declining press conferences and not even wandering to “the back of the bus” for the sorts of ad hoc interviews he used to give. And he turned to the same media consultants that engineered the smear campaigns of 2000 to engineer new smear campaigns of 2008. 

Whether it was bad decision-making or a glimpse of the “real guy,” it tarnished any perception of McCain being a guy for whom honor and duty were the greatest calls, and made him seem more like just another name-calling politician. 

Maybe all these shifts in perception were not global, but certainly among many toward the center of the political spectrum saw it that way, and given the alternative of a charismatic speaker who comported himself with dignity and calm in the face of all the storms the campaign tossed his way, the choice was obvious.

And at that, the race was still very close, percentage-wise. There were 46% of the electorate that voted for McCain. If he had pulled a few more from the center, he could have won.

But to listen to the GOP analysts and consultants, that message has been lost. The economic crisis wasn’t a direct harm to McCain’s campaign, except that (a) he was associated with the Bush Administration and, more importantly (b) he failed to show any leadership in the matter. The electorate’s rejection of Bush wasn’t necessarily a loser for McCain if he’d been able to paint himself as something different, but his voting record and his perceived need to appeal to the Bush base kept sucking down into the maelstrom. And McCain played plenty aggressive, especially as the campaign wore on, but while it may have scored a few points, it also lost a bunch bu smearing his own “honorability” as much as it cast doubt on his opponent.

In the end, what made this campaign something different from the past was that it was not an election about fear — ironic, given the troubles we are in. Instead, it was an election about hope. McCain didn’t provide any of the latter, and his campaign increasingly took on the tone of the former, trying to tear down its opponent rather than build up its candidates. Obama took the opposite path, trying to make people believe. yeah, they struck back at times, but most of what they did was trying to encourage people, trying to get people to lift themselves up and face the challenges ahead.

That message worked. McCain’s didn’t. And that’s why McCain didn’t win.

 

 

 

Obama wins

And, I think, so do we. I was home sick today, and likely will be tomorrow, too. But I’m … amazed to see this happen. It’s … remarkable. And…

And, I think, so do we.

I was home sick today, and likely will be tomorrow, too. But I’m … amazed to see this happen. It’s … remarkable. And wonderful.

Now, of course, the really hard work begins.

What one voice can do

An anecdote from the early campaign, and what the election’s all about.   Fire it up!…

An anecdote from the early campaign, and what the election’s all about.

 

Fire it up!