Politics

Politically, I’m very liberal — about as far left as one can go without sliding into Libertarianism.

Random bits

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Just some of the stuff that’s been catching my eye lately as I try desperately to get caught up in my reading before the weekend hits.

One step forward…

Connecticut on Wednesday became the second state to offer civil unions to gay couples — and the first to do so without being forced by the courts.

About an hour after the state Senate sent her the legislation, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed into law a bill that will afford same-sex couples in Connecticut many of the rights and privileges of married couples.

“The vote we cast today will reverberate around the country and it will send a wave of hope to many people, to thousands of people across the country,” said Sen. Andrew McDonald, who is gay.

…two steps back.

Step one:

Texas could become the only state to bar gays from becoming foster parents under legislation passed Wednesday by the House.

“It is our responsibility to make sure that we protect our most vulnerable children, and I don’t think we are doing that if we allow a foster parent that is homosexual or bisexual,” said Republican Rep. Robert Talton, who introduced the amendment.

Under the Texas bill, anyone who applies to be a foster parent or a foster parent whose performance is being evaluated must say whether he or she is homosexual or bisexual. Anyone who answers yes would be barred from serving as a foster parent. If the person is already a foster parent, the child would be removed from the home.

Step two:

Republican Alabama lawmaker Gerald Allen says homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle. As CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports, under his bill, public school libraries could no longer buy new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters.

“I don’t look at it as censorship,” says State Representative Gerald Allen. “I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children.”

Books by any gay author would have to go: Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Gore Vidal. Alice Walker’s novel “The Color Purple” has lesbian characters.

Allen originally wanted to ban even some Shakespeare. After criticism, he narrowed his bill to exempt the classics, although he still can’t define what a classic is.

“

MS backing down on gay rights?

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From this week’s The Stranger:

In a move that angered many of the company’s gay employees, the Microsoft Corporation, publicly perceived as the vanguard institution of the new economy, has taken a major political stand in favor of age-old discrimination.

The Stranger has learned that last month the $37-billion Redmond-based software behemoth quietly withdrew its support for House bill 1515, the anti-gay-discrimination bill currently under consideration by the Washington State legislature, after being pressured by the Evangelical Christian pastor of a suburban megachurch. The pastor, Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, met with a senior Microsoft executive in February and threatened to organize a national boycott of the company’s products if it did not change its stance on the legislation, according to gay rights activists and a Microsoft employee who attended a subsequent April 4 meeting where Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft’s senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary, told a group of gay staffers about Hutcherson’s threat.

AMERICAblog comments:

Microsoft Corporation pulled its support for a gay rights bill in Washington state last month after complaints from a single radical right anti-gay leader, according to an article just published in the Seattle paper, The Stranger (the article is on the news stands already, online Thursday).

My sources in Washington state tell me that the vote on the bill, expected in two days (Friday), is SO CLOSE that Microsoft’s actions may be pivotal in KILLING THE PRO-GAY LEGISLATION.

The radical right activist reportedly told Microsoft it had better pull its support for the gays or anti-gay bigots would launch a nationwide boycott of Microsoft, and guess what – Microsoft caved. A single anti-gay jerk, and Microsoft chose to reverse over ten years of policy and bash gays.

This is outrageous. It’s also incredibly dangerous. For over a decade Microsoft, along with hundreds of other corporate leaders, has endorsed gay rights legislation in the states and nationally. And now, suddenly, because ONE ANTI-GAY ACTIVIST COMPLAINED, they’ve suddenly changed their minds ON A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE. A rather big “oops” after ten years of being in favor of civil rights, don’t you think?

Robert Scoble comments:

I don’t know anything about it, or anything about how Microsoft decides to support political issues, but human rights is very important to me personally and I’m gonna take this up with the leadership of the company and support this cause.

Update: The anti-discrimination bill, which had been passed 61-37 by the House in February, was defeated this afternoon by one vote (via Salon)

Pope Benedict XVI

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I’ve been browsing articles about the new Pope off and on all day…have to say, I’m a bit disappointed. They seem to have picked the most staunchly conservative of the candidates.

Bits and pieces from CNN’s profile:

The newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, was one of the most powerful men in the Vatican under Pope John Paul II, a strict enforcer of church doctrine who earned the nickname “Cardinal No.”

[…]

Ratzinger became known as “Cardinal No” because of his drives to crack down on the liberation theology movement, religious pluralism, challenges to traditional teachings on issues such as homosexuality, and calls to ordain women as priests.

[…]

Ratzinger has said modernity led to a blurring of sexual identity, causing some feminists to become adversaries of men. He labeled homosexuality “an intrinsic moral evil.”

He argued that Muslim Turkey did not belong in Christian Europe and issued a document saying that Catholicism was the only true religion, questioning the validity of other religions, even Christian ones, even as his Pope John Paul II was trying to reach out to other faiths.

[…]

He rejected a 1993 pastoral letter co-written by fellow German Cardinal Walter Kasper that encouraged divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to return to the sacraments.

Y’know, in the church I was brought up in, I was taught that we were supposed to be accepting of others different from us. That we were supposed to love all people equally. To do unto others as we would have done to us. That Jesus shunned the powerful and spent time with the weak, downtrodden, and humble masses.

Of course, I wasn’t brought up Catholic.

iTunes “Graveyard” by Webley, Jason from the album Springman Records Sampler (2003, 3:57).

The next logical step

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First, the good news (and, for once, this is good news): federal legislation is being introduced that will protect a woman’s ability to get birth control.

Reports of pharmacists with particular religious and moral beliefs denying prescriptions for birth control have prompted legislation that would ensure all prescriptions are filled.

House and Senate backers unveiled a bill dubbed the Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act (ALPhA) on Thursday.

It would allow a pharmacist to refuse to fill a prescription only if the prescription can be passed to and filled by a co-worker at the same pharmacy.

[…]

“What have we come to in this country?” Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat and House sponsor of the bill, said Thursday morning at a rally on Capitol Hill. “We are merely saying, ‘let the laws in this country stand.’ Let a woman be treated with dignity. When she has a prescription from her doctor, that privacy should be respected.”

The bad news comes later on in the article, with someone applying the same ridiculous extrapolations that lead anti-gay-marriage bigots to claim that eventually we’ll be marrying our pets and children.

[Karen] Brauer told Reuters she believes doctors will eventually begin ordering women to abort disabled children, or refuse to treat them after birth.

“They’ll force women to kill their children … It will be like China. It’s the next logical step,” she told Reuters.

It’s absolutely mind-boggling to me that there are people out there who think like this — who actually believe this crap.

iTunes “Hurdy Gurdy Man, The” by Butthole Surfers from the album Hurdy Gurdy Man, The (1990, 4:01).

Until death (or homophobia) do you part

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Well, I can’t say I’m surprised, but I’m certainly disappointed that Oregon has nullified the same-sex marriages performed last year. It’s frustrating enough to see it happen from the standpoint of someone’s who’s very much in favor of true equal rights for all — but even more so when this decision affects a friend of mine.

This is only the first day and already I have run into problems. I had an appointment with an attorney this afternoon and the first question asked? Martial status? Single. He looks down at the gold wedding band still (and forever) on my finger. Widower? Nope. Divorced? Nope. He’s trying real hard to pretend he doesn’t see the ring but he does and its giving him fits. Ha-ha he nervously laughs, that ring looks a lot like a wedding band. It IS a wedding band. Now he’s lost so he starts again. Martial status? Still single, I haven’t gotten married in the last five minutes. Finally at a loss he just accepts I’m single and moves on to the next round of questions.

Yesterday it would have been so much easier. Martial status? Married. See how easy that was.

So now what?

iTunes “Big Ditch” by DJ Icey from the album Urbal Beats Vol. 1 (1996, 3:49).

Rush Job

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Rush Limbaugh yesterday, via Atrios:

LIMBAUGH: When does he start up this stupid little network? August? Yip yip yip yahoo. You know what Gore said about this? It’s going to be liberal. It’s going to reflect the point of view of young people.

What the hell is that, Al? What the hell is the point of view of young people? Blow jobs, that’s what they’re doing out there. They’re out there getting oral sex all day long, that’s what they’re talking about. That’s the point of view they can’t wait that your boss,

Al made sure that’s become the number one sport in high school today. So, I guess you’re going to have a BJ network out there, Al, is that what you’re going to do? You’re going to call your network the oral sex channel out there, start competing with MTV?

No, it’s not going to have any of this stuff out there, folks, it’s going to be talking about liberalism, no, no, no, that’s not what we’re about. Classic cannot even admit who he is.

(Anyone wanna bet on whether he gets slapped with a fine for violating broadcast decency standards…or for that matter, English grammar standards [oh, if only we could fine people for that particular infraction…{but then, I’d probably get busted for run-on sentences and needlessly nested paranthetical remarks (like this)}]? No? Yeah, me neither.)

Rush later (today?), via Wonkette:

I am going to apologize not for saying what I said, but I’m going to apologize if it offended anybody. I never apologize for what I say, but if some of you were offended by a graphic term involving actions committed by BILL CLINTON and MONICA LEWINSKY that have now spread to AMERICA’s high schools, I apologize. I meant to say ‘oral sex’ throughout, but the guttural term escaped my pouty lips in a moment of pure, unbridled passion. The staff was so stunned and so scared today they didn’t dare hit the delete button, the deedle button, and so it got out there…

Because, apparently, no teenager ever hit upon the idea of getting or giving a blowjob until Clinton introduced the idea to the world.

iTunes “Heavy Weather” by Caia from the album Isola D’Amore (2003, 5:06).

It’s illegal to photograph Seattle bus stations?

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Looks like another Seattle-area shutterbug has run into more bogus “no photography” harassment from heavy-handed officials. This time, Alex Williams had his digital film card confiscated after taking pictures at the Pioneer Square bus station.

On Saturday, 4/9/2005, a friend and I were photographing inside Pioneer Square Bus Station when we were stopped by a King County Sheriff’s Deputy and Transit Authority Police Officer and told what we were doing was illegal, and that the area was considered restricted.

I asked the officers explicitly if we were breaking the law. To which the Transit Authority Officer responded, “There’s no law, It’s just sort of an unwritten rule.” The Deputy rebuked my friend and me for not using common sense and repeatedly mentioned the word “terrorism”. The Deputy then confiscated my digital film and informed me that the compact flash cards would be sent to a lab to see what was on them. I offered to format the cards while he watched but he refused.

I did not receive a ticket or citation or receipt for my belongings. On parting, the officer asked if I had any questions, and I politely suggested that they may want to put signs up letting people know that it was illegal to photograph here. To which, he responded, they weren’t “going to waste time posting signs for something that’s common knowledge.”

I found out about this because as Alex researched similar instances after his encounter, he found and linked to my post about Ian Spears problems photographing the Ballard Locks last summer, which then popped up in my referer logs.

One bright side to Alex’ experience, though — after contacting a few people, his story will be on tonight’s 5:30pm KOMO 4 news broadcast.

UPDATE! (4/11/2005)
I emailed KOMO 4 news early this morning and got a prompt photocall from Molly Shen, reporter. The news crew arrived this morning and interviewed me for a story scheduled to air at 5:30pm today.

Molly had already done an impressive amout of work by the time she arrived. She talked with King County Sheriff’s officials and found out that it was, in fact, inappropriate for the Officer to confiscate my equipment. She was told that my equipment would be returned as soon as possible. Thanks, Molly!

I won’t be able to watch the broadcast, but I’ll keep an eye on the KOMO site and see if they post it online this evening.

Update: KOMO has posted their story online.

Voting at 16 in WA’s future?

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All stereotypes aside, not all teenagers are solely interested in video games and bad music. Some of them are interested in video games, bad music (I kid, I kid…) — and voting. Here in Washington, the local chapter of the National Youth Rights Association is working on lowering the state’s voting age to 16.

Our country is founded on the concept of no taxation without representation,” 17-year-old Heather Kelley told the House Government Operations and Accountability Committee. “Eighty percent of teens work, yet we have no say on how those taxes are being spent.”

For Olympia High School student Kelley, as well as fellow Olympia seniors Kehlen Sachet and Jason Puz, also 17, what began as a class project last fall has gained enough momentum to become a bill in the Legislature.

[…]

In Washington, the students’ arguments caught the attention of Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia. He ended up sponsoring the bill after the students visited his office a couple of months ago.

“They gave a reasoned, well-researched presentation on why they thought it was a good idea,” Hunt said.

The state constitution would have to be amended to change the voting age. Amending the constitution requires two-thirds approval from both houses of the Legislature before the issue heads to voters.

At the federal level, the U.S. Constitution originally defined the voting age as 21, among a slew of other qualifications. The passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971 lowered the age to 18.

States are prohibited from raising the age, but there are no restrictions on lowering it, according to the state’s Office of Program Research.

Nifty! I certainly don’t have any issues with this — if they’re actually interested enough to participate and vote, I see no reason why they shouldn’t be able to.

iTunes “Something Fast” by Sisters of Mercy, The from the album Vision Thing (1990, 4:37).

Daylight Saving Time getting longer?

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Our brilliant government at work yet again. While debating amendments for an energy bill, two alternatives were proposed to help reduce US oil consumption. The result? No new regulations to actually reduce oil usage, but how about extending Daylight Saving time by two months instead?

A House committee voted on Wednesday to expand U.S. daylight-saving time by two months to help reduce energy consumption, but rejected a plan to shave total U.S. oil demand by 1 million barrels a day.

Both proposals were offered as amendments to be tacked on to a broad energy bill that was debated by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The panel agreed in a voice vote to move the start of daylight-saving time in the United States — which occurs when clocks are turned forward by one hour — one month earlier to the first Sunday in March. The end of daylight time would be moved back one month to the last Sunday in November.

[…]

The committee voted down, 39 to 12, a separate amendment to require the federal government to find a way to cut U.S. oil demand by 1 million barrels a day by 2013. The amendment offered by Democrat Henry Waxman of California aimed to reduce imports of crude oil.

Lawmakers with automakers in their districts led the fight to defeat Waxman’s proposal, arguing it was backdoor way to require U.S. mini-vans, sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks to improve their fuel efficiency.

Oh, the horror! My god, can you imagine what this world would come to if we actually had to improve the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks? The environment would improve and oil profits would drop — it would be a disaster of unmitigated proportions!

Ugh. Idiots.

Instead, we’ll just muck around with our clocks to make summer seem longer…kinda. Resonsibility’s overrated anyway. Why actually do something when you can procrastinate and ignore the problem?

iTunes “Bitch” by Pigface from the album Easy Listening… (2002, 3:10).

Living in a Theocracy

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How in the world can people justify going to war to free people from religious oppression, and at the same time, condone and encourage religious oppression here at home?

Here’s an outrage for you. There’s a growing movement among pharmacists and even doctors to refuse to provide legal and necessary health services.

Let’s start with pharmacists. In at least 10 states, they have refused to fill prescriptions for birth control, citing moral and religious beliefs. In so doing, they have incited a nationwide outcry by women (and their men) who rely on such basic medical services.

…Some pharmacists “just say no” to filling the prescriptions. Others don’t offer these women alternative locations where they can get them filled. A few zealous pharmacists have actually gone off the deep end and refused to return the prescriptions to the women for whom they were written. That’s obstruction — someone who is licensed by the state to provide a medical service (to wit, the pharmacist) has instead barred a customer from obtaining that service.

I’ve been seeing more and more stories about this lately, and find it absolutely outrageous. How much longer before the extreme right-wing pushes too far?

Hopefully, not much.

iTunes “Flesh ‘n Blood” by Oingo Boingo from the album Best o’ Boingo (1989, 4:09).