Prop. 8 and the lefty Obama backers

For those of you who don't follow along with every perturbation on the left, there are a great number of bloggers and commenters on blogs such as Daily Kos who are telling the GLBT community to essentially "Shut up about Prop 8. We'll get to you later." Their attitude is one of desperation, at heart; they feel so distressed from 8 years (at least) of conservative oppression and so precarious in our victories lately that they don't want anybody to say anything negative about Obama or the current state of affairs for fear of losing what we are on the brink of getting. For them, the cries of pain and betrayal stemming from the passage of Prop 8 among those affected directly are hysterical, out-of-proportion to reality, and hypersensitive.
To all those who feel that way, I demand that you read this incredible diary, posted today. To any others, please read it also, as a reminder that we can never really know for sure how someone else feels, or why, and that taking the time to consider someone else's experiences before speaking, writing, or even voting, is the hallmark of decency and maturity. Be generous of spirit in those times when conflict arises; it rarely costs anything substantial, and far more often results in a better outcome. Fighting for what is just, right, or ethical is hard, and anyone choosing to do so deserves respect, at the very least.

Dancing with the Devil brings consequences? Gee . . .

The LA Times has just put out a column by Steve Lopez in which Lopez bemoans the fate of one Margie Christofferson, manager of the LA restaurant El Coyote. You see, Christofferson donated to the Yes on 8 campaign and the restaurant was subsequently boycotted vociferously thereafter. Lopez tries to get us to sympathize with poor Margie by saying how upset she is that her life has been thrown into turmoil. (Lopez hastens to add, of course, that he opposed Prop. 8, I suppose lest we think that his article was derived from bigotry instead of idiocy.)
I'm sorry to tell you two clowns, but more lives were disturbed by Prop. 8's passing than ever could have been by its failure, in a far more profound way, and your article is outrageously patronizing, Steve. It may indeed be a shame that Christofferson's life has cracked, but the shame lies entirely within her soul. No one put a gun to her head forcing her to donate money--earned in large measure (apparently, based on the success of the boycott as mentioned in the article) from those opposed to legal bigotry--to the Yes on 8 cabal, and your feeble attempts to humanize the story beyond that are laughable. Christofferson was free to do so, just as we are now free to hold her accountable for her hate. Maybe she should have thought about the consequences of her actions before stabbing her gay patrons in the back as she was "schmoozing" them.
What gives the lie to her true feelings, and what makes this article reprehensible in and of itself, is that when given the chance to rectify her shortsighted bigotry, she chose not to donate a like sum (or more) to help those she has wronged, but instead simply "left in tears." Boo freaking hoo, Margie. And Steve? The story that you wrote is not really about Ms. Christofferson getting hurt, but instead concerns her whining about getting caught being a bigot. She offers no restitution or apology (which could have made for a relatively more humane story), and instead of calling her out on that, you take her side, making excuses for her that even she doesn't voice! Bravo, jackass.

Keith Olbermann on Prop 8

Whether you think KO is great or cheesy, I would hope you have to admit that his passions run deep. I think he's terrific; I've liked him ever since he was a sportscaster here in LA. Something about him told me, "Here's a guy who's smart, geeky, funny, and has his heart in the right place." Kinda like what I hope I am, to be honest. For those reasons, I have always paid attention to what he has to say. Even if I don't watch him every day, I know he's on air somewhere telling it like it is, against all odds. (And those odds seem to finally be going our way. Phil Donahue lost his MSNBC show years back for being "liberal", his top ratings notwithstanding. Olbermann, on the other hand, just got his contract renewed. Happy day!)
Last night, he gave a special comment on Proposition 8. As usual, Keith was eloquent and fiery. Even more than that, though, he showed an unusual amount of emotion (other than righteous anger, which is his norm); more than once he nearly choked up in tears. It's a powerful piece--please watch and listen.
(Hat tip to transcendence for the notice.)

Citizens strike back against bigotry

Not 24 hours after the seeming passage of Proposition 8, the first lawsuit to challenge its validity has been filed, with another charging its unconstitutionality hot on its heels. The San Francisco City Attorney's office will immediately petition the California Supreme Court to invalidate the Proposition, while Gloria Allred, who represents the first gay couple to wed in LA County after the ban was lifted back in July, said she will file her lawsuit soon.
Fingers crossed yet? They should be . . .

The cloud to that silver lining

A number of good people and ideas lost--and some lost big--this time, showing us how far we really need to travel. In the Senate, Scott Kleeb got blown away in Nebraska, and three of the most reprehensible Republicans (Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, and John Cornyn of Texas) won handily. In addition, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, probably the most despicable Senator currently serving, (judging by his campaign strategy 6 years ago, wherein he portrayed his war-scarred triple-amputee opponent as a traitor), will most likely secure his reelection either later today or via runoff. Even felon Ted Stevens leads in Alaska by 3000 votes with over 95% of the precincts counted.
In the House, Gary Trauner lost his bid in Wyoming (and it wasn't close), Bob Lord of Arizona, who sought to take down one of the leading lights of the Republican Party John Shadegg, got crushed, Jean Schmidt of Ohio, who has made quite a name for herself as a shrieking imbecile, won easily, and Nixon lover Don Young of Alaska leads widely as well.
The biggest disappointment--make that, crushing blow--is right here in California, where the Yes on 8 bigots have a larger than 400K vote lead with only 4% of the precincts left to be counted. 2 similar pieces of crap were passed elsewhere in the country last night also, but one expects that kind of diseased behavior from Florida and Arizona citizens.
Update: 3 pieces of crap. Arkansas did, too. Vastly predictable, given that the bulk of Arkansas is becoming more red even as the vast bulk of the country is turning blue. (Hat tip to neurotranscendence for pointing this out.)
If ever we needed more evidence that we are just beginning to turn this mess around, these should make that point readily and sickeningly. So, congratulations to us for electing the first African-American to the highest office in the land and extending the Democratic Party's lead in both the House and Senate, but I, for one, still weep tears of shame for the moral rot we continue to show the world.

Are Lutherans bigots?

Signs point to "Yes"--literally. Our local Lutheran Church has some "Yes on Proposition 8" signs posted prominently on their lawn. These signs are clearly church-erected, because they flank the large concrete and brick structure that shows the name of the church itself, located behind an iron fence that surrounds the church's plot. While support for ballot initiatives does not violate a church's non-profit status, unfortunately, signs like these do highlight their political stances, heinous as they are in this case. One more strike against organized religions . . .
Vote "No" on 8!

California politics = massive failure

I have a long history of disliking things here in the Golden State. Traffic, air quality, cost of living, my ex-wife--all of these have raised my blood pressure at one time or always. Our political system, though, that one deserves special mention this election season. Without getting too detailed on the history or mechanics of California governance, I want to focus on one particular, incredibly bad idea implemented here: the referendum. Every year, Californians are asked to vote "yes" or "no" on a bewildering set of ballot measures because the bar for getting these on the ballot is set incredibly low. This means that at any given time, just about any legislative idea must be voted on by the citizens of the state, and many times, two competing--or actually opposing--measures can be present on the same (or worse, consecutive) ballot. More tragically, some truly crackpot, dangerous, and clearly unconstitutional ideas that would never have passed out of any state legislative committee get placed on the ballot, troubling and confusing voters who are already struggling to attain civic literacy. Sometimes the proposition itself is written in such a way as to lose its meaning, but more often than not, the various proponents and opponents wage vicious and misleading ad campaigns designed to sway voters.
Case in point: this year's Proposition 8, which has really brought out teh stupid in people. This is a straightforward and hopelessly diseased measure designed to deny a civil right to a single group of citizens. The first thought most people should have had is: How could anybody in their right mind vote in favor of such a thing? And indeed, polling on Prop 8 revealed a fairly negative reaction from the time it was introduced. The latest polls, however, have shown a marked shift in attitude in favor of passing this execrable abomination. What happened? Well, the Mormon church happened. The Mormons, in their infinite evil, have decided to throw their considerable financial and persuasive resources into the movement to pass Prop 8, leading to a wave of pro-8 media ads filled with lies, and the poor saps among us unable to separate lies from fact are being convinced that all Hell, literally, will break loose if Prop 8 passes. The battle isn't even over gay marriage--which is the only thing Prop 8 covers--anymore, because the religious bigot supporters discovered that only a small minority really care about interfering with other people's rights, regardless of who those people are. The ads instead make all kinds of outrageous and wholly deceptive claims for what Prop 8 will do. My favorite is that if passed, Prop 8 will require children to be taught in school about gay marriage. Erp? Here's a direct quote from some apparently brainwashed blogger: "Legalizing same-sex marriage immediately mandates changes to all California public school curriculum to teach that same-sex marriage is the same as traditional marriage."
Ok, kids, here's where you get to play spot-the-incorrect-assumption. I'm going to show you the entire text of Proposition 8, and you get to tell me how the blogger above reached his/her conclusion. Ready?

ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME–SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

• Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.
• Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California

Well? Do you see anything in there about anything other than the marriage rights of same-sex couples? No? That's because Proposition 8 doesn't do anything but eliminate that right. Of course, deceit comes second nature to Mormons, whose entire religious doctrine is based on the notion that some guy (Joseph Smith) in upstate New York in the late 1820s found some holy golden plates written on in a coded language and a magic hat with which he decoded them, all of which he refused to let anyone see and all of which also somehow disappeared before anyone else could see any of it. Seriously. Upstate New York, golden plates, and a magic hat. These are not people in whom I would rely upon to tell me the truth about anything, because they clearly are not people who value rationality. Proposition 8 is simply wrong. Mormon support proves it.