election summary
the good: Obama won a pretty resounding victory. Now the people who previously held the opinion that we HAD to support Bush because he was our president, have no excuse not to support Obama. Then again, pointing out their contradictions (*cough WMD in Iraq *cough) hasn't worked that well in the past.
the bad: it looks like Prop. 8 is going to pass in CA. (I didn't have much hope for the similar amendments in other states.) CA is different, of course, not just because it is generally quite liberal, but because it already granted gays and lesbians the right to marry. This proposition is, in effect, not only taking that right away, but also calls into question, the legality of those marriages that have already occurred. It's still quite shocking to me, that people would vote for this proposition on such ludicrous grounds that it "protects" marriage, when in fact, it is quite literally, going to destroy marriages that currently exist.
Don't give me that bullshit about how the people have spoken, either: the "people" should never be allowed to vote on something as important as the taking away / giving of rights to certain groups of people. It is fundamentally bullying on a state level, that 52% can fuck over a minority group. As pointed out elsewhere, all you have to do is replace gay and lesbian couple with any other minority or non-minority group to see just how discriminatory this proposition is.
the mindboggling: Ted Stevens still has a narrow lead in Alaska, with 99% reporting. Yes, apparently you can still run for US senator, even with 7 felony convictions. You can even still vote in the election, as long as sentencing hasn't occurred yet, according to the Alaska Law Department. I disagree with not allowing felons or ex-felons to vote because I think it's against the spirit of the original US law, but I think if your law says convicted felons can't vote in an election, that should occur when he/she is convicted, not sentenced!
I don't think there is anything in place that actually prevents a felon from being US senator, although the Republican party clearly wants Ted Stevens to step down.
The big question is, of course, can you filibuster from prison?
the bad: it looks like Prop. 8 is going to pass in CA. (I didn't have much hope for the similar amendments in other states.) CA is different, of course, not just because it is generally quite liberal, but because it already granted gays and lesbians the right to marry. This proposition is, in effect, not only taking that right away, but also calls into question, the legality of those marriages that have already occurred. It's still quite shocking to me, that people would vote for this proposition on such ludicrous grounds that it "protects" marriage, when in fact, it is quite literally, going to destroy marriages that currently exist.
Don't give me that bullshit about how the people have spoken, either: the "people" should never be allowed to vote on something as important as the taking away / giving of rights to certain groups of people. It is fundamentally bullying on a state level, that 52% can fuck over a minority group. As pointed out elsewhere, all you have to do is replace gay and lesbian couple with any other minority or non-minority group to see just how discriminatory this proposition is.
the mindboggling: Ted Stevens still has a narrow lead in Alaska, with 99% reporting. Yes, apparently you can still run for US senator, even with 7 felony convictions. You can even still vote in the election, as long as sentencing hasn't occurred yet, according to the Alaska Law Department. I disagree with not allowing felons or ex-felons to vote because I think it's against the spirit of the original US law, but I think if your law says convicted felons can't vote in an election, that should occur when he/she is convicted, not sentenced!
I don't think there is anything in place that actually prevents a felon from being US senator, although the Republican party clearly wants Ted Stevens to step down.
The big question is, of course, can you filibuster from prison?
Labels: politics
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