Paul Krugman

You know he's such a geek - and George Will should have to hold his pocket.

My Limited Belief in Democracy

I'll be honest, I believe in democracy only so much. The passing of Proposition 8 in California further challenges the limits of my trust of democracy. I cannot accept that human rights can be decided by popular vote. Your rights and mine are the exemption to a democratic vote, there should be no entity that can limit the rights of a human being. Because there are still plenty of people that don't like Jews and people with darker skin. What if they came to a majority?

The first law of my Utopia:

The rights of an individual can never be brought before the court of popular opinion.

Again, thank you Keith Olbermann for your heartfelt comments on this.

Jackass of the Week: The Mormon Church

I know I'm going to offend anyone who is Mormon with this one, but I'm right steaming pissed about the Church of Latter-day Saints' involvement with Proposition 8 in California. So let me be clear: To the Quorum of Twelve (Apostles not BSG) fuck all y'all. And you've already unintentionally damned yourselves to the moral ironies of history.

Why I'm so mad is that apparently the Mormon Church funded and coordinated the effort to get Prop 8 to pass. Actually up to 70% of the money donated was from the Mormon Church. Yes, it is true that many other religious organizations came out in favor of this measure, but none held such a coordinated effort to suppress an individual's rights.

Let us all remember that it was the Mormons that fled to Utah because they wanted to defy the marriage laws of the day. You know, they wanted to have plural marriages, still not as cool as swingers. And in the words of the John Stewart, "the suppressed have become the suppressors." Then again the Mormon Church is no stranger to this these are the same people that that those with dark skin had the mark of Cain.

But the moral of of the story? Don't mess with the gay and lesbian community. They are going to take this with a grain of salt. We're talking about what were previously legal marriages. People have worked hard to say that, to publicly and legally declare they love a person for life. So make some noise and sign this petition:
Mormons Stole Our Rights
Or donate:
Invalidate Prop 8!
Or be a real dick like me and challenge the Mormon Church's tax exempt status:
Section 501(c)(3) of US Code Title 26

Fact is, when a religious organization is willing to go that far to influence elections they are either a lobbying firm or a political action committee. And should be treated as such: tax the fuckers. I pray the ACLU takes up the cause, but if there is anyone with more lawyers than that ACLU it's probably the Mormon Church.

I don't want one person to tell me that marriage is between a man and a woman. Frankly, these people do not have a basic grasp of history. Marriage is as old as the Egyptian empire-so if you want to say it's religious fine, but then you have to recognize that damn crazy Egyptian paganism as a legitimate religion. Oh, also the paganism of the Celts, Romans, Vikings, Greeks so on and so forth. Marriage in actuality was a legal practice. Marriages were usually arranged and what was concerned was the woman's dowry. I'll stop boring you with the history. Fact is marriage is a legal term.

You may want to tell me that it is religious. Regardless you would be picking and choosing what parts of the Bible you want to follow. You also should not eat shellfish. Or play football. Sorry Bringham Young scrap that football program.

Yes, I feel I'm justifiably angry. I cannot watch people lose their rights and stand idly by. Fact is I'm not even gay, but I don't think that matters. The Mormon Church has a right to practice their religion, but not suppress the rights of others. I'll be honest I was happy and proud when the ACLU defended the people of Yearning for Zion compound. The rights of all must be defended.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

- Martin Niemöller

I Love Philly

We get a bad rap, but Philly is just awesome:

Free Obama Sticker!

Hey,

Want a free Obama sticker to celebrate our victory? It's designed by Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic HOPE poster. And MoveOn's giving them away totally free--even the shipping's free.

I just got mine. Click this link to get your free Obama sticker:

Free Obama Sticker

Thanks!

Why This Picture is the Most Important of the Election

This was taken in St. Louis, Missouri on October 18th. In the foreground on the right, there is a small stage, occupied by the slender frame of Barrack Obama. In the distance is the St. Louis Courthouse, a remnant of days past. I say this, because it was in that very courthouse that the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford was tried. Where it was declared those of African descent could never be citizens of the United States.

Well, how far we have come.

And the Right...

And the Right was exercised tonight.

Yes we can... Yes we did.

Happy Halloween

As I recall, liberals are supposedly unapproachable pompous pricks. And we believe that we are intellectually superior, blah, blah, and so forth. Hey at least we don't pull shit like this:

Just a Friendly Reminder