Hawaii and Illinois have joined the list of states legalizing same sex marriage and the governor of Missouri has ordered same sex marriages recognized for the purpose of filing state tax returns.
And so the wall continues to crumble.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
What is an Atheist?
This is a definition from the Supreme Court case Murray v. Curlett, one of the cases in which the Supreme Court in 1963 struck down both Bible reading and the Lord's Prayer in public schools as a violation of the 1st Amendment.
An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god.
An Atheist accepts that heaven is something for which we should work now, here on earth, for all men together to enjoy.
An Atheist accepts that he can get no help through prayer, but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and to enjoy it.
An Atheist accepts that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to reach a life of fulfillment.
Get it?
An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god.
An Atheist accepts that heaven is something for which we should work now, here on earth, for all men together to enjoy.
An Atheist accepts that he can get no help through prayer, but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and to enjoy it.
An Atheist accepts that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to reach a life of fulfillment.
Get it?
Friday, November 15, 2013
Virginia's Attorney General Update
A week after the election it appears that the Republican's didn't manage to hold the Attorney General's office in Virginia.
Less that 200 votes appear to have given the election to Democrat Mark Herring over Republican Mark Obershain.
According to the right wing nut jobs this is just further evidence of election fraud to add to Cuccinelli's loss, Romney's loss, McCain's loss...
Conservatives cannot tell the difference between fact and fantasy nor can they understand that many people simply DISAGREE WITH THEM!
Still, even with a zero for three showing in Virginia we're hearing it's because they weren't conservative enough. Welcome to the Republican Party, all lunatics welcome.
Less that 200 votes appear to have given the election to Democrat Mark Herring over Republican Mark Obershain.
According to the right wing nut jobs this is just further evidence of election fraud to add to Cuccinelli's loss, Romney's loss, McCain's loss...
Conservatives cannot tell the difference between fact and fantasy nor can they understand that many people simply DISAGREE WITH THEM!
Still, even with a zero for three showing in Virginia we're hearing it's because they weren't conservative enough. Welcome to the Republican Party, all lunatics welcome.
Tuesday, November 05, 2013
Election 2013
For an off-year election this had some important "tend" style things going on.
In New Jersey what passes for a moderate Republican, Chris Christie, easily won re-election over the non-entity Barbra Buono. With 84% of the vote in Christie was ahead 60%-38%.
However a buzz kill for Christie's presidential hopes were in exit polls that showed he would lose New Jersey to Hillary Clinton.
In Virginia lunatic fringe candidate Republican Ken Cuccinelli lost the gubernatorial election to Democrat Terry McAuliffe by 47.5% to 45.9%. Libertarian Robert Sarvis managed 6.6%.
But more important than the governor's race was the race for lieutenant governor where certified lunatic Republican E.W. Jackson got trounced by Democrat Ralph Northam 55% to 45%.
So what's the key take away here? Cuccinelli was far more conservative than Christie and Jackson was much, much more conservative than even Cuccinelli. So, despite what the right wing lunatic fringe is saying, the more conservative you are, the more likely you are to get clobbered in the general election.
The Republican's might manage to hold Attorney General in Virginia as Mark Obershain leads Democrat Mark Herring 50.3% to 49.7%. This is sort of unfortunate as there isn't much to choose from between Cuccinelli and Obershain.
The only reason Jackson was on the ballot was the Virginia GOP went from a primary system to a convention. Jackson would never have won even a GOP primary. He's that loony toons.
In New York City, it wasn't even close. Bill DeBlasio is up by about 3-1. My concern with DeBlasio is all about finances. Personally I would have liked to see Mike Bloomberg made mayor for life.
The last election of note is in the Alabama 1st District where a Republican run-off is taking place for the seat of the resigning Republican Representative. Both candidates are conservative whack jobs but we're talking about Alabama here so it's all relative. Apparently the establishment Republican Bradley Byrne is going to defeat his Tea Party challenger by 52.5% to 47.5%.
All in all a really bad night for the Tea Party and that's a good thing.
In New Jersey what passes for a moderate Republican, Chris Christie, easily won re-election over the non-entity Barbra Buono. With 84% of the vote in Christie was ahead 60%-38%.
However a buzz kill for Christie's presidential hopes were in exit polls that showed he would lose New Jersey to Hillary Clinton.
In Virginia lunatic fringe candidate Republican Ken Cuccinelli lost the gubernatorial election to Democrat Terry McAuliffe by 47.5% to 45.9%. Libertarian Robert Sarvis managed 6.6%.
But more important than the governor's race was the race for lieutenant governor where certified lunatic Republican E.W. Jackson got trounced by Democrat Ralph Northam 55% to 45%.
So what's the key take away here? Cuccinelli was far more conservative than Christie and Jackson was much, much more conservative than even Cuccinelli. So, despite what the right wing lunatic fringe is saying, the more conservative you are, the more likely you are to get clobbered in the general election.
The Republican's might manage to hold Attorney General in Virginia as Mark Obershain leads Democrat Mark Herring 50.3% to 49.7%. This is sort of unfortunate as there isn't much to choose from between Cuccinelli and Obershain.
The only reason Jackson was on the ballot was the Virginia GOP went from a primary system to a convention. Jackson would never have won even a GOP primary. He's that loony toons.
In New York City, it wasn't even close. Bill DeBlasio is up by about 3-1. My concern with DeBlasio is all about finances. Personally I would have liked to see Mike Bloomberg made mayor for life.
The last election of note is in the Alabama 1st District where a Republican run-off is taking place for the seat of the resigning Republican Representative. Both candidates are conservative whack jobs but we're talking about Alabama here so it's all relative. Apparently the establishment Republican Bradley Byrne is going to defeat his Tea Party challenger by 52.5% to 47.5%.
All in all a really bad night for the Tea Party and that's a good thing.
Friday, November 01, 2013
My 2 Cents on Obamacare
Ok, maybe it will be a nickle or maybe even a dime.
Let's start with the catastrophic roll-out web site screw-up. Granted that it's just a techie thing, and I've seen my share of techie foul-ups (I've even been a part of a few), but this is such a screw-up it leaves one breathless.
Yes, the technology is more complicated that it looks but they could at least have hired a contractor that had some vague notion of what they were doing. I would love to know how the selection process went on this puppy.
There is no question in my mind that Kathleen Sebelius should be canned. This is a foul-up of that kind of magnitude. She had ONE THING TO GET RIGHT and she blew it spectacularly.
Now let's talk about the fact that, despite constant assurances that you could keep the health care you had, apparently this wasn't true in all cases. Due to regulations instituted by the Department of Health and Human Services, many private policies aren't grandfathered because they don't meet the Health Care Law requirements.
What this means is a golden opportunity for insurance companies to (1) dump policy categories (and they must end a whole business area and not individual policies) that are unprofitable or are so piss poor they're law suits waiting to happen. The Health Care Law introduction gives them the perfect excuse.
AND OBAMA KNEW IT ALL ALONG. Where I come from we call that lying.
The solution is simple. Pass a law that guarantees people can choose to keep policies they had prior to March 2010 (the current grandfathering cut-off) unchanged if they're happy with it and regardless of how lousy the policy may be.
What do you figure the chances are Congress can do something BEFORE January 1 when the policies disappear?
Let's start with the catastrophic roll-out web site screw-up. Granted that it's just a techie thing, and I've seen my share of techie foul-ups (I've even been a part of a few), but this is such a screw-up it leaves one breathless.
Yes, the technology is more complicated that it looks but they could at least have hired a contractor that had some vague notion of what they were doing. I would love to know how the selection process went on this puppy.
There is no question in my mind that Kathleen Sebelius should be canned. This is a foul-up of that kind of magnitude. She had ONE THING TO GET RIGHT and she blew it spectacularly.
Now let's talk about the fact that, despite constant assurances that you could keep the health care you had, apparently this wasn't true in all cases. Due to regulations instituted by the Department of Health and Human Services, many private policies aren't grandfathered because they don't meet the Health Care Law requirements.
What this means is a golden opportunity for insurance companies to (1) dump policy categories (and they must end a whole business area and not individual policies) that are unprofitable or are so piss poor they're law suits waiting to happen. The Health Care Law introduction gives them the perfect excuse.
AND OBAMA KNEW IT ALL ALONG. Where I come from we call that lying.
The solution is simple. Pass a law that guarantees people can choose to keep policies they had prior to March 2010 (the current grandfathering cut-off) unchanged if they're happy with it and regardless of how lousy the policy may be.
What do you figure the chances are Congress can do something BEFORE January 1 when the policies disappear?
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