Meanwhile, congratulations on your new president! To para-phrase Warren Ellis, now if ever you're in Europe you don't have to lie and say you're Canadian.
When I first heard that he was likely to win, about an hour before the polls closed on the west coast, I had this huge wave of relief and just went into tears.
I didn't realize until then just how little hope I had.
I'm relieved too, and I'm not even American! This whole saga has just been absolutely phenomenal. I can't even imagine what it's like to be over there and be a part of it.
"I didn't realize until then just how little hope I had."
Oh, I had the same feeling when John Howard (Australia's Bush-minion) got kicked out last November. I felt very much like the survivor of an abusive relationship, and I don't say that AT ALL lightly.
Yeah, I was trying to be neutral and not get my hopes up, because of the thrashing they took in 2004. But what I really did was just assume that the Republicans would steal the election again. :(
When I heard Obama had enough EVs to win, I don't think I've ever been so emotional about politics. The speaking was even better.
The only thing I can compare it to is when they finally threw Thatcher out on her ear and then the sheeple STILL voted in another Tory for another four years!
They can't. They are amendments to their state constitutions, thus it can't be ruled unconstitutional.
That's why the props to change constitutions are so horrible. There is no way to overturn them if they pass without a ruling from the Supreme Court that those state constitutions go against the Federal Constitution, which is unlikely (and would take years from this point).
Er, my point was that the Supreme Court needs to decide that those state constitutions need to be ruled unconstitutional.
This is one area the people simply can't be trusted to be reasonable on, and it consistently means stripping civil rights from a swath of the population.
Actually, I think just giving everyone civil unions as a civil contract and leaving the silly marriage thing up to religious institutions would be the best all-around solution.
I probably should've said religious institutions and individuals. I don't know, I have never been to keen on marriage as a institution, how it's so weighed down in historical patriarchy kind of makes it poisonous to me. I just find the splitting of hairs over "marriage" and "civil unions" to be nonsense.
That distinction was just created by the a reaction to religious right pressure by activists to make the idea more appealing to the public. In a long term strategic sense we may have shot ourselves in the foot, since it gives people a chance to vote against gay marriage and still feel like they aren't denying a right or a privilege.
Okay wait a minute, I didn't specify which institution did I? Hell, I think if two get together and just want to call it "marriage" then they have the right too if they don't want a regligious ceremony involved. But the whole struggle semantics over whether to call it a civil union or marriage just seems absurd to me. It just might be best to get the government out of the marriage business across the board.
"Getting the government out of the marriage business" means abolishing the probate courts, abandoning the concept of next of kin, and removing all inheritance protocols. It's a legal contract, we have an entire branch of government for looking after legal contracts.
There was a sense a few weeks ago that the Democratic party didn't do anything with prop 8 because they figured they had the LGBT vote in California tied up anyway.
With his victory speech, the same-sex marriage and adoption bans, and the belief I have that he is willing to do something about them, I have cried myself red and puffy.
Sorry to abuse comments with off-topic post but I thought you'd want to know the Manchester 'debate' is being webcast -
received from Stephen Whittle today:
'The Trans feminist debate between Susan Stryker, currently visiting professor at Harvard University and Julie Bindel, Guardian Columnist will be webcast at http://www.streaming.mmu.ac.uk/law/webcast/ (http://www.streaming.mmu.ac.uk/law/webcast/) tomorrow at 2pm (UK time)'
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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T-shirt: I can haz? :D
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I ripped it off from a friend who got it from Unfogged, IIRC.
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Meanwhile, congratulations on your new president! To para-phrase Warren Ellis, now if ever you're in Europe you don't have to lie and say you're Canadian.
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I didn't realize until then just how little hope I had.
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I'm relieved too, and I'm not even American! This whole saga has just been absolutely phenomenal. I can't even imagine what it's like to be over there and be a part of it.
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The second I heard the news my flatmate said to me "Hark, is that the heavens parting above me?"
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Oh, I had the same feeling when John Howard (Australia's Bush-minion) got kicked out last November. I felt very much like the survivor of an abusive relationship, and I don't say that AT ALL lightly.
I'm so glad for all of you.
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I did.
The man had two-hundred electoral college votes. It was mathematically impossible for McCain to win.
And I still refused to believe it until McCain gave his concession speech.
But then, when Obama spoke last night... I don't think I've ever been so emotional about politics in my life.
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When I heard Obama had enough EVs to win, I don't think I've ever been so emotional about politics. The speaking was even better.
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The picture's still there. :)
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(there is no picture, only ZUUUUUUUUUL!)
sorry, I partied last night (tequila and absinthe! woot!) so I'm a bit goofy :D
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tequila and absinthe are a heady brew!
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well, happy except for those damn anti-same sex marriage props.
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What needs to happen is that the Supreme Court needs to declare all such laws unconstitutional.
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That's why the props to change constitutions are so horrible. There is no way to overturn them if they pass without a ruling from the Supreme Court that those state constitutions go against the Federal Constitution, which is unlikely (and would take years from this point).
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This is one area the people simply can't be trusted to be reasonable on, and it consistently means stripping civil rights from a swath of the population.
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Strike down 8, or strike down marriage. :)
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If we did it that way, the religious right would take it as a mandate that Christianity really does own marriage as a concept.
Also: As has been demonstrated in Oregon, even though they might say they're down with civil unions, they're opposed to those as well.
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That distinction was just created by the a reaction to religious right pressure by activists to make the idea more appealing to the public. In a long term strategic sense we may have shot ourselves in the foot, since it gives people a chance to vote against gay marriage and still feel like they aren't denying a right or a privilege.
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Oh, wait, non-Christians are already not real people.
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But yeah, the democratic party really dropped the ball on prop 8. :(
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There was a sense a few weeks ago that the Democratic party didn't do anything with prop 8 because they figured they had the LGBT vote in California tied up anyway.
No idea how much truth there is to it.
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With his victory speech, the same-sex marriage and adoption bans, and the belief I have that he is willing to do something about them, I have cried myself red and puffy.
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People keep forgetting stuff passed in four states, too. :(
Stryker/Bindel debate webcast
received from Stephen Whittle today:
'The Trans feminist debate between Susan Stryker, currently visiting professor at Harvard University and Julie Bindel, Guardian
Columnist will be webcast at http://www.streaming.mmu.ac.uk/law/webcast/ (http://www.streaming.mmu.ac.uk/law/webcast/) tomorrow at 2pm (UK time)'