60% of the population reporting and there's an almost insurmountable lead on proposition 8, which will overturn the Californian Supreme Court and strip the rights and dignity of California's gay citizens - along with anyone who traveled to California. I am absolutely horrified that equality will be stripped and tarred from the minority in California.
I only wish the people of California had more time to realize that the sky would not have fallen and that those who pushed Prop 8 were lying; no, the state would not be teaching 8 year olds about all the intricacies of homosexuality, for heaven's sake. It's so sad that millions of California's citizens vote for Barack and against equality. His speech tonight was inspiring, yet for those Californian queers who dared to dream, the majority declared "no we can't." Sadly, those who have been subject to persecution in this country in the past voted for Prop 8's discrimination by the widest margins. If Obama's support for Proposition 8 were only a little stronger, perhaps it would have made an impact in those communities. Then again, perhaps not.
I truly hope there's earth shattering change over the rest of the night, but I am not naive. At this point, it would take a miracle. I've never seen such a messed up system as the Californian ballot initiative, where a simple majority could alter the constitution over one year, fueled by millions on a hoard of nasty, dishonest ads. At least in Massachusetts we treat the constitution with a shred of decency - and that's saying a lot, because this state's bar to change the constitution is not overly high.
My heart is broken, for this could set the movement back decades. This could temper progress all across the country and allow the homophobic forces crucial momentum in rolling back our gains. All they have to do, apparently, is scream "the children!" and the village panics, forgetting all reason and logic, including all the millions of children reared and raised by gay couples, now lacking constitutional protection under the law. And all those people who had a happy wedding in California will again have their marriage licenses torn apart and be told that their love is phony and not worthy of equal rights. For shame.
Update: Wow, Alaska is currently voting for the convicted felon. So, is tonight glass half full or glass half empty? Extra points for comments that make me feel its glass half full, because it's feeling pretty empty right now.
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11 comments:
You think you're bummed, I live in a state where you can't ask the immigration status of people asking to live in public housing. So I help foot the bill to house illegal aliens.
Obama's Aunt is as good as deported.
Oh for fuck's sake.
Anonymous, can't you STFU just for one night?
Just one night? You are the most pathetic scared little shit ever. Can't even come up with a nickname. Can't even come up with a real issue.
Ryan, I commented in response to you over at BMG. You know how I feel about the civil rights of my friends, and you know that the community has my full support and love. And we will prevail in the end. There was bound to be major setbacks. Think of all the others who've come before trying to get their civil rights.
I predict there will be a backlash as we watch tearful couples losing their rights in CA.
And, *HUGS*
Sorry Lynne! Let's talk about a real issue. When does Sal do the perp walk?
Relevant, much?
Hijack thread, much?
Starved for attention, much?
The end.
Wilkerson, DiMasi, Rogers, DeLeo, etc. What do all of these folks have in common? The answer is FBI, State Ethics, Inspector General, State Police (?), Attorney General. Talk about attention. Thank you Lynne for your thoughtful post. Kinda looks like the Senator from Alaska is not the only one with issues.
Lynne my dear:
Here's the point. Ryan is always on the backs of the GOP when his beloved DEMs are as bad if not worse. If they are pro gay/lesbian (Sal) they get a pass. If they are in the GOP they get roasted. Relevant, yes. Ask your Rep when they plan on removing Sal. Innocent til proven guilty you say? Does that apply to Lady Di? Apparently not..
No one gets a pass, Anon.
I'm actually very consistent.
If they've been convicted or if there's tangible proof, then I make action. Along with Mike Ball, I lead the blogosphere in arguing against Wilkerson's reelection. I printed a very public op ed in Bay Windows, the glbt newspaper that's based out of that district, that actually caused a lot of grief for me among pro-gay organizations that I am a part of. I was not willing to condone someone's actions when they were proven guilty of a serious crime. Wilkerson plead guilty. Case closed.
The same is said of Stevens in Alaska. He did it; he was convicted by a jury of his peers. Case closed.
The difference? At least progressives defeated Wilkerson. The Republicans in Alaska voted the convicted felon in.
When people are guilty, or when the evidence is overwhelming that there was wrongdoing, then chances are I'll come out against a person. That just isn't the case with Sal, where's there's little evidence and mainly just conjecture at this point.
As I already noted, though, please try to stay on topic. A blogger gets to choose his or her subjects. If you want to keep drumming Sal, you should write your own posts about it and push it as far as you want. I even gave you a good website from which to do that. I'm just, quite frankly, not very interested in Sal until I know more. I don't know how many more times I can say that...
Is Wilkerson guilty of corruption or does she get her day in court just like Stevens?
She got her day in court. She plead guilty. As far as I was concerned, that was enough for me as a voter. With these new charges, she obviously deserves her day in court, but the evidence is overwhelming and I'm very glad she finally withdrew her attempt to have a write-in campaign.
Really, though, I think you have your eye off the prize. You're so obsessed with a perceived criminality at the state house that it's hurting our attempt to actually solve problems. Are there bad apples? There always are - we deal with them as they come up. But getting distracted when there's issues to tackle means that progress will be stifled.
Ryan, this post actually had an ill defined topic, you started out about the gay rights thing in Cal, but then threw in a dig at the ridiculous election of a criminal in Alaska. Kind of left the door open to any comment with the glass half full reference.
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