Archive for the ‘Current Events’ Category
It's the Law, Actually
Some years ago I frequently drove past a road sign in College Park [MD] that said "State Law: Obey All Traffic Signs". I thought it very odd that there was, apparently, a law stating that one must obey other laws; furthermore, it was expressed in a sign stating that one must obey all signs. How […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Feeling Peevish
God Couldn't Make It
Legislative hearings are going on in Maine on the question of a bill that would create marriage equality in that state. Apparently the hearings are very, very well attended with many, many supporters. There are, of course, also some detractors reportedly foaming at the mouth. Andy Towle described* one woman as saying that "she was […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Domestic Right-Wing Terrorism Threat
In case you missed it despite the sounds of patriot hearts a-flutter and conservative jaws a-jawin, we've recently learned (via The Raw Story; they have a link to the report) that the Department of Homeland Security has released a report saying that right-wing extremist groups are the "most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United […]
New York State vies to be Next in Marriage-Equality Race
New York Governor Paterson gave a press conference this morning at which he made a remarkable announcement: he is introducing legislation in the New York Assembly to recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry in New York. I am watching the video (seen here). He announced his decision in a notably direct manner: I […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
You Go, Vermont!
Well, this is exciting. We'd been following the progress of legislature in Vermont that would bring marriage equality to the Green Mountain State, first as it easily passed in the Senate, through young James Neiley's testimony in favor of marriage equality in a house hearing, which apparently worked since the house also passed the bill. […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Iowans Believe in Fairness
Last Friday, 3 April 2009, there was a rally in Iowa City, Iowa, to show support for the Iowa Supreme Court's decision in favor of marriage equality. Iowan Alan Light was there and took these photographs, which he is sharing under a Creative Commons license. (Thanks to Joe.My.God.)
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
You Go, Iowa!
I have written before about my time living in Iowa when I was in college, and how much I enjoyed Iowa and felt it became an adopted home. I also wrote ("Iowa, My Iowa") about my pride and excitement when marriage equality arrived in Iowa, and the curious case of the one young couple who […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
James Neiley Supports Marriage Equality in Vermont
As you may know, debate is underway in Vermont on legislation in favor of marriage equality for same-sex couples. The bill has already passed in the Senate with a substantial majority: 26 – 4. It is now under consideration in the House. (See, e.g., "Vermont moves closer to equality", Mike Tidmus : Blog, 24 March […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Reich on Reaganomics: Thoroughly Tested, Thoroughly Wrong
The basic idea of Reaganomics was that the economy grows from the top down. Lower taxes on the wealthy make them work harder and invest more, and the benefits trickle down to everyone else. Rarely in economic history has a theory been more tested in the real world and proven so wrong. In point of […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Current Events
Reich on Income Distribution
The incomes of the top 1 percent have soared for thirty years while median wages have slowed or declined in real terms. As economists Thomas Piketty and Emanuel Saez have shown, in the 1970s the top-earning 1 percent of Americans took home 8 percent of total income; as recently as 1980 they took home 9 […]
In: All, Briefly Noted, Common-Place Book, Current Events
Meteoroids, not Space Debris
SpaceWeather.com (operated by NOAA) reports that people all over the US are seeing meteors and are concerned that it's space debris from that dramatic orbital collision between Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251. Apparently there was also a large meteor seen over Italy that led to similar thoughts. I've also seen reports that the FAA has […]
In: All, Current Events, It's Only Rocket Science
Solvency Through Good Health II
Last year, on 8 October 2008, I posted a blog article called "Solvency Through Good Health", in which I suggested that, for a number of reasons, implementing a nation, single-payer health plan in the US now would be good for America and be a good economic stimulus plan, since it would provide much-needed services throughout […]
Is He Still President?
But the brazenness of Bush’s alternative-reality history is itself revelatory. The audacity of its hype helps clear up the mystery of how someone so slight could inflict so much damage. So do his many print and television exit interviews. The man who emerges is a narcissist with no self-awareness whatsoever. It’s that arrogance that allowed […]
In: All, Current Events, Reflections
Sanchez on Warren
This is a portion of what Mary Sanchez wrote in the The Kansas City Star ("Rick Warren needs to evolve", 29 December 2008): [Rick Warren] rejects the theory of evolution, and he believes that to be homosexual is to have embraced a life of sin. Are those mainstream views? If so, there must be two […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Speaking of Science
That Warren+Obama Thing
Since the news broke that president-elect Obama asked evangelical Rick Warren, notorious for various anti-gay remarks he has made in very public ways, not to mention his vocal support for the anti-marriage-equality proposition 8 in California, to give the invocation at Obama's inauguration, I've been on the side of the incensed gays and pro-choice and […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Protecting Marriage
So, here's the deal. There are some 36,000 people married (in pairs) in California since this past summer whose marriages some religious fanatics would like to annul* in the name of "protecting marriage". Unfortunately, these people tend to have no sense of irony at all. (Keep in mind that it's generally the same crowd who […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Chu on Cars: Consider the Refrigerator
For automobile manufacturers, a small parable told by energy-secretary-designate Steven Chu: This past summer, Steven Chu, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist who currently heads Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory—and who has been tapped to be the next Secretary of Energy—delivered a talk on climate change and how to combat it. Consider, Chu said, the refrigerator. Refrigerators consume […]
In: All, Common-Place Book, Current Events
Separate is Never Equal
This morning the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission published its final report, in which they recommend that New Jersey move expeditiously towards creating law that grants the right to marry to same-sex couples. The report (available here) makes compelling reading; it's also refreshingly concise for a government report! Nevertheless, I marked out some quotations […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity
Mine! Mine! Mine!
In case your eyes are as old as mine, the caption reads: "Territoriality: Peeing on it doesn't make it yours." The sentiment is useful, the idea behind it is illuminating. This comes from the article "Territoriality: Peeing on It Doesn't Make it Yours — Staking Out Territory by Appropriating Cultural, Political Institutions", by Austin Cline […]
In: All, Current Events, Faaabulosity, Feeling Peevish
Churches' Tax Exempt Status: Not a Constitutional Right
San Francisco Catholic Archbishop George Niederauer, in his first extensive explanation about his role in the passage of Proposition 8, on Wednesday defended the church's actions in the successful ballot initiative. "Religious leaders in America have the constitutional right to speak out on issues of public policy," Niederauer wrote in a statement posted on the […]