Come on Maryland, make me proud!

 

The Maryland House is considering a marriage equality law today.  If it passes, it will become law as the Governor and state Senate already support it.

Civil rights should be available to everyone.  The state shouldn’t discriminate over such a fundamental human need as the need to marry the one you love.

It’s clear to anyone with a sense of history that marriage equality will win the day, whether it’s this year or in ten years.  Denying equal opportunity of the law today will only hurt people and put those who vote against it on the wrong side of an important civil rights issue.

Please Maryland delegates, pass this bill.

 

The bottom line on the birth control issue

 

Look, this whole ridiculous nontroversy over the provision of free birth control to women is very simple.  Catholic Bishops and Republican Congressmen are acting like this is a big infringement on religious freedom and of course it isn’t.

Here’s the deal:

Every American HAS THE RIGHT to use birth control if they choose.

Under this regulation, religious employers are either exempt from providing birth control to their employees or (per the President’s compromise) the insurance company has to pay for it.

As an employer, you DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to keep your employees from using or receiving free birth control.

 

AS AN EMPLOYER, IT IS NOT INFRINGING ON YOUR RELIGIOUS RIGHTS IF YOUR EMPLOYEES USE BIRTH CONTROL, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY GOT THEM. 

 

So Bishops and Congressidiots, STFU please.

Thank you.

 

The Party of Liberty and Freedom

The Republicans greet every initiative by the Obama Administration with doom and gloom pronouncements about how the President is moving America down a pathway to totalitarianism.  The most recent example is how a simple regulation requiring insurers to pay for birth control represents tyranny of the highest level and a war on religious freedom.  Of course it's all complete nonsense.

And then there's the things the Republicans do when they're in charge.

The Virginia House passed a bill 63-36 requiring that women who wish to have an abortion must submit to a "transvaginal ultrasound."

The ultrasound legislation would constitute an unprecedented government mandate to insert vaginal ultrasonic probes into women as part of a state-ordered effort to dissuade them from terminating pregnancies, legislative opponents noted.

"We're talking about inside a woman's body," Del. Charnielle Herring, a Democrat, said in an emotional floor speech. "This is the first time, if we pass this bill, that we will be dictating a medical procedure to a physician."

The conservative Family Foundation hailed the ultrasound measure as an "update" to the state's existing informed consent laws "with the most advanced medical technology available."  Link

Let's make this absolutely plain.  The Republicans are requiring doctors to perform an unnecessary, invasive medical procedure on a patient who is there to undergo another medical procedure that is perfectly legal.  The party that has lied about death panels and bureaucrats coming between patients and doctors is making it mandatory for women who have made a difficult and emotional choice about what's best for their lives to undergo an unwanted procedure.

This is beyond reprehensible.  It's clearly unconstitutional, of course.  But it's despicable and evil.

This is what you get when you elect right wing zealots who apparently lack all common decency and compassion and who will not hesitate to force their twisted "morality" on the rest of us.  This from the party of "small government" and "individual liberty" who constantly harp about government interference with their lives.  They would use the power of government to force women to undergo an invasive medical procedure.

This November we have to wipe them out of legislatures across this country to stop obscenities like this bill and to see that this never happens again.

Best Guest Ever

Speaking of the Daily Show, tonight's episode, Feb. 14, 2012, featured guest Ricky Gervais promoting his new HBO show, Life's Too Short.  As soon as he sat down, he went off on a tangent about pandas.  Stewart picked up on it and the result was the funniest interview I've ever seen on the Daily Show.  I was almost crying I was laughing so hard.  Check it out.

Warning:  You will learn more about panda mating than you ever imagined you would.

The Daily Show and the birth control "controversy"

This was completely awesome.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Vagina Ideologues
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

As was this.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Vagina Ideologues - Sean Hannity's Holy Sausage Fest
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Two of the best segments in a long time, and THAT'S saying something.

Rick Santorum is sad because others are now equal

 

On the day when Washington State extended equal marriage rights to gays and lesbians, Rick Santorum was very sad.

I know this is a very important day in Washington. And in many respects a sad day for many people. We saw the law signed into here in Washington state. But it is very important you understand what just happened in another place….in the Ninth Circuit….The Ninth Circuit decided that anybody that disagrees with any of these folks, anyone who disagrees with these folks when it comes to the issue if what marriage is in this country, well they are irrational. That’s what the Ninth Circuit said. They said anybody who disagrees with their decision to shoot down Prop 8 in California, they do so because they are irrational and the only possible reason they can possibly…  Link

Yes, it’s so sad when gays have equal rights.  And even sadder when intolerance is called irrational.  Certainly being called irrational is more of an injustice than not being able to marry the person you love, right?  Right?

By the way, Santorum was interrupted at that point in his thoughtful whining by police tasering two protestors.  Santorum said that the protestors demonstrated “true intolerance”, completely unlike his awesome tolerance of Teh Gays.

 

Immediate Karma and good decision-making in video games

Here's a conversation I just had with Ben as he's playing Skyrim.

[Ben's character enters an ancient ruin and looks down at a creature on a bridge below.]
Me:  Hey, that looks like a troll.
Ben:  It's a frost troll.
[Ben's character draws his sword]
Me:  You don't need to attack him.
Ben:  It's fun to take things down.
Me:  If you talk to him, maybe he could be your friend.  He'd be a powerful ally.
Ben:  He's an enemy.
[Ben approaches from behind and slices the frost troll across the back.  It screams and moves away.]
Me:  Why, just because he's different?  This guy could be your powerful sidekick.  What if Han Solo had attacked Chewbacca the first time he saw him?
[Ben takes another slice.  The frost troll ceases fleeing and turns around towards Ben.]
Ben:  This may not have been a good idea.
[The frost troll kills Ben's character with a single blow.]

I laugh.  A lot.  I really love that he realized his mistake about one second before his death.  Ben just glares at me.

Komen and Planned Parenthood

Want a good perspective on the Komen for the Cure Klausterfokken from last week?  Check out Margaret and Helen.

And speaking of pink, this whole mess with Komen should be a wake-up call to women everywhere. Komen knew damn well that this had nothing to do with mammograms and everything to do with politics. They just thought we wouldn’t notice because the ribbons were pink. They knew what they were getting when they hired Karen Handel. She ran for office in Georgia with a campaign promise to close down Planned Parenthood. Exactly what women’s health clinics did they think we women were using for years before we started racing for a cure? Did they think that the millions of us who had gone to Planned Parenthood before we had health insurance (and even after) weren’t aware of the services we were provided? Trust me. When you go to a place
and have a doctor poke around your hoo-ha, you pay attention.
...
Planned Parenthood provides healthcare – pap smears, breast and pelvic exams, colposcopies, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and birth control for both women and men – most without access to any other health care services. About 97% of their services are for this basic healthcare. If you want to talk about abortion services then you should at least know the truth. Providing that service for women who are faced with that daunting decision accounts for less than 3% of what Planned Parenthood does nationally. Less than three percent. They also provide prenatal care, vasectomies and adoption referrals. One Planned Parenthood clinic does more in a day to prevent abortions than the entire Pro-Life movement does in a year. We might not agree on abortion, but we should at least be able to agree that they should be safe, legal and rare.

Read the rest.  It's great.

Update on Women in Combat

 UPDATE on Women in Combat!

Okay, Santorum has clarified that he wasn't talking about women's emotions, but about the men who would be with them.

I was talking about men’s emotional issues, not women. That’s something I’ve talked about repeatedly. [...] Men in our culture are focused on if a woman is in trouble, obviously, to react to try to help to protect and care for that person. That is something that is built in culturally. So my concern is that being in combat in that situation, instead of being focused on the mission, they might be more concerned about protecting a woman in a vulnerable position.

So he's worried that our male, professional soldiers will fall apart because they'll be so worried about the poor,  defenseless women in their group.

Here's a newsflash for you, Mr. Santorum.  For the past ten years in both Iraq and Afghanistan, women have been serving alongside men in combat roles.  It's not official policy but it's been happening.  And guess what?  No one is getting all verklempt and unable to do their jobs because of it.

But then Santorum made it all better.

He says, “It’s not a matter of putting women in dangerous roles.” He tell[s] me, for example, that women are fully capable of “flying small planes.”  Link

What a douchenozzle.

This is not the film you actually saw

"The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in 'Episode IV,' what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn't. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down."  -- George Lucas.   Link

Uh, George, I know you think we’re all hypersensitive fanboys to complain about this “tiny” change to Han Solo’s character, but you’ve got one of your fundamental facts wrong.

We don’t think that Han “seemed” to shoot first in the original because it was all close-ups and confusing.  We “know” that Han shot first because GREEDO NEVER FIRED HIS WEAPON in the original version.  There is not a single frame of film in that sequence that suggests that Greedo in any way discharged his weapon.  Han never gave him the chance.

So going on about a wider shot, blah, blah, blah is irrelevant.  Own the change.  Because you’re not convincing us that there was no change.

No one is THAT strong in the Force.

Update on Birth Control Regulations

I was wrong. It looks like I was prematurely pessimistic about the Administration “caving” on the new birth control regs.

The new compromise offered by the White House is that the insurer for the religious entities in question, rather than the employer, would be responsible for providing contraceptive coverage free of charge for employees. Insurers would also be responsible for informing employees of those benefits. Senior administration officials say that this policy is intended to accommodate religious liberty while still providing affordable access to preventive health services to all women.  Link

This seems like a great compromise. Of course, the Catholic hierarchy and the Republican leadership are badmouthing it because they (1) don’t want ANY birth control, and (2) don’t want ANY Obama victories, as I noted in my last post.

I propose a new rule:

If the leaders of your group are (supposedly) chaste, unmarried men who have (supposedly) sworn off sex forever, who don’t believe that anyone should be using birth control, and that women should be completely subject to your religious beliefs about contraception rather than their own beliefs, YOU DON’T GET A VOICE IN THIS. YOU GET TO STFU ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE’S SEXUALITY.

How about that?

Women in Combat

After a year long review, the Pentagon is about to loosen some restrictions on women soldiers in combat positions. The new rules will allow women to serve in combat battalions, but still restrict them from the most combat intensive duties, including all infantry positions, the Navy SEALS and the Army's Delta Force.

These continued restrictions, of course, make it more difficult for women to succeed in a military career and have no real justification in a 21st century military force. It seems to me that if you can qualify physically and mentally, then you should be able to serve in whatever capacity you can. There should be absolutely no gender restrictions and this includes the SEALS and Delta Force. It's the 21st century, women are supposed to be treated as equals, they've proven themselves to be capable, professional and motivated soldiers for years now, so what's the problem?

Of course, not all have the same view. Here's VERY SERIOUS Republican candidate Rick Santorum putting his foot in it:

"I want to create every opportunity for women to be able to serve this country . . . but I do have concerns about women in front-line combat.  I think that could be a very compromising situation, where people naturally may do things that may not be in the interest of the mission because of other types of emotions that are involved. It already happens, of course, with the camaraderie of men in combat, but I think it would be even more unique if women were in combat," Santorum added. "And I think that's not in the best interests of men, women or the mission."

Yes, women with all their pesky and flighty "emotions" might screw up combat.  Not that he's being disrespectful or anything.

Geez, people.  Grow up and GET OVER YOUR STUPID PATERNALISTIC ATTITUDES.

Oy.

Obama Administration to cave on birth control

The birth control “firestorm” this week that resulted from the Administration’s new rules requiring all employers to cover birth control for women free of charge was in actuality a complete nontroversy. The rule already exempted a large number of religious organizations and fell right in line with many states that already have more rigorous requirements for providing birth control.

The American public overwhelming supports the measure. Even a large majority of Catholics support the measure. The only folk who don’t support it? The Catholic hierarchy, who don’t want anyone using any birth control ever, and the Republican leadership, who wouldn’t support Obama if he cured cancer while winning $50 quadrillion for Earth in the Space Lottery.

This is a complete win for the President politically and a win for anyone who wants a sane health policy in this country. (Oh, yeah, and providing more comprehensive birth control would lower the number of abortions).

That’s why this is so frustrating and annoying:

President Barack Obama will announce a plan to accommodate religious employers outraged by a rule that would require them to cover birth control for women free of charge, according to a person familiar with the decision.

…

The shift is aimed at containing the political firestorm that erupted after Obama announced in January that religious-affiliated employers had to cover birth control as preventative care for women. Churches and houses of worship were exempt, but all other affiliated organizations were ordered to comply by Aug. 2013.  Link

So the Administration puts forward a reasonable policy that a majority of Americans support, the usual suspects generate all kinds of fake outrage, and the Administration compromises. I had hoped that the Administration was finally beyond this. You can’t negotiate with those who don’t compromise and you can’t win when you play their game.

(I readily admit that I don’t know the details of this yet. Maybe they aren’t so bad. Whatever they are, it’s doubtful those against it will be placated in any way.)

Obama to Americans: Off with your heads!

From VERY SERIOUS Republican Presidential Candidate Rick “the Frothy One” Santorum:

“It was a secular revolution on which we relied on the goodness of each other. This is the left’s view of where America should go. And of course where did France go? To the guillotine. To tyranny. If there are no rights that government needs to respect, then what we see with ObamaCare is just the beginning of what government will do to you.”  Link

Fortunately, under “ObamaCare” we’ll all have health insurance, so that will take a little bit of the sting out of the whole getting guillotined business.

The Republicans get all the good celebrities!

I’m not one to care much for celebrity endorsements of political positions, but man is this tempting me to turn Republican.

CPAC, the premier annual gathering of conservatives that starts today, will feature some major star power: one member of the Duggar family, Kirk Cameron from “Growing Pains,” and Stephen Baldwin. Meanwhile, Donny Osmond is helping out Mitt Romney.  Link

Ask the Atheist - "What do you believe in?"

The first thing my Father asked me when I came out to him as an atheist was:

"If you don't believe in God, what do you believe in?"

To be honest, I kind of expected the question although now I'm not sure why.  I guess that having been a believer, the question made sense to me then.  It doesn't now.

I didn't have a really good answer back then because I wasn't used to being questioned about my lack of belief.  I wasn't used to putting myself outside of a ridiculous question and seeing it for what it really was.  And it is a ridiculous question.

I should have asked my Father back, "In regards to religion or faith, why do I have to believe in anything?"  Where is the requirement that I hold some, any, superstitious belief?  What value is it?  What does it add to my life?  Without evidence, why should I believe in God, an afterlife, rapture, resurrection, reincarnation, magic underwear, divination, spells, water turning to wine, or any of that nonsense?  Should I believe those things just because most other people do?  Pascal's Wager is a stupid bet and a waste of one's time and resources.

Believing in something just to believe isn't rational.  Faith imparts no wisdom or understanding because it is built on a foundation of sand (see what I did there?)  Faith is only a useful way to look at the world if you want to fool yourself.  And as a rational, skeptical atheist, I try as much as possible not to fool myself.

To answer the question positively, I'd have to consider the question with regards to values.  If we're talking values, I believe in the same things that most humans believe.  I believe that people should be compassionate, empathic and understanding of one another.  I believe that one should treat others as one wishes to be treated.  I believe in kindness and thoughtfulness.  I believe in asking questions about the universe and exploring it through science.  I believe that the strong should protect the weak and that as humans we all have a common bond and we should care for each other.  These values are universal and require no religious beliefs.  I came to these values by how I was raised and by my own experience in life.

So do I believe in Jesus, Thor, Zeus, Allah, or Ra?  No and there's no reason to.  But do I believe in universal human values as a way to live my life?  Sure.  That's what I believe.

Notice anything INTENSELY stupid about this?

Happy Hanukkah from Rick Santorum!

Dick.

(If you don't get why this is stupid, read the quote. If you still don't get it, ask a Jewish friend.)

Huge week in equal rights

There were two huge developments this week in the struggle for equality.

First, the Ninth Circuit upheld the trial court's ruling that California's Proposition 8 banning gay marriage was unconstitutional.  This will still be appealed to the Supreme Court, but it was another victory for marriage equality in the most populous state in the country.

Second, Washington state just today passed a bill establishing gay marriage and the Governor will sign it.  Hooray!

Give it up, haters.  You've lost on this issue as gay marriage isn't going away.  All you're doing by dragging this out is hurting people and showing yourselves for the bigots you are.

This is your Republican Party

Tens of thousands of Republicans across three states gave victories in yesterday’s primary and caucuses to a man who is so conservative he wants to BAN CONTRACEPTION. Think about that for a moment.

“One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country.” And also, “Many of the Christian faith have said, well, that’s okay, contraception is okay. It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.”

“How things are supposed to be” according to Rick Santorum.

Thoughts on our New York Trip 2012

Here are a few final thoughts on our trip.

We took the Megabus to New York.  The Megabus is a double-decker bus with comfortable, reclining seats, large windows with good views (our return bus had a transparent ceiling), an onboard bathroom, and free wi-fi.  The bus boards at Union Station, which meant we could park the van at Shady Grove and ride the Metro to Union Station, availing ourselves of the amenities there before we departed.  The trip was scheduled to take four hours one way (about an hour longer than the train) and the bus nailed it both times.

The best part?  All four of us taking the train to NYC would have cost $600.  The Megabus cost us a total of $120.  Awesome deal.

Katz's Delicatessen was one of the highlights of our trip.  Pastrami sandwiches never appealed to me before, but I figured that if I was going to get one, this was the place.  Here's my first-ever Pastrami and the rest of our lunch.

This was REALLY good.

Ben and I had a good time on Saturday walking from Times Square to the Empire State Building then up 5th Avenue to the Apple Store near Central Park then back to Times Square.  It was a long walk but he was completely cool with it and we saw lots of interesting things.  Seeing the Freedom Tower rise at the southern end of Manhattan was incredible.  The thing is immense.  It's hard to describe just how much it dominates the skyline so here's a shot.  This is around 91 floors high with the facade above floor 66.  It will top out at 105 floors.

Despite its reputation and history, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was a lot of fun.  The stuntwork was ambitious and amazing, the setting and special effects mind-blowing.  The book and score weren't totally memorable (the score was noticeably U2ish) but worked well enough.  The guy who played the Green Goblin was fantastic.  The audience ate it up.  Afterwards, Rachel got a whole bunch of autographs and her picture taken with Spider-Man.  Then, the guy who had just starred on Broadway in front of a couple thousand people, slung his guitar case over his shoulder and starting walking home by himself.  It was surreal.

Here's a preview that gives you an excellent taste of the show.



Chicago on Friday night was the polar opposite of Spider-Man.  A small theatre, the orchestra on the stage, no sets, minimal costuming.  Just the half dozen main characters and a chorus of singer/dancers who played all the other roles.  It was a testament to just how talented the performers are that it was fun and interesting and great.

Rachel's auditions went well and she got a callback from the University of Miami.  All in all, a fun little break that we were happy to share as a family.

Santorum surges over Romney!

Despite his best efforts, it looks like Mitt Romney is taking one to the face from Rick Santorum tonight.  Santorum looks likely to win both Missouri and Minnesota while Colorado is still close.

Because Republicans just don't like Romney.

Here's something we can all get behind

Headline of front page article in Washington Post:

"Romney tries to beat back possible Santorum surge in trio of states"

I can unequivocally state that I fully support Romney in this and wish for his complete success.

Reality whacks another cool concept

On our last night in NYC, Carol, Rachel and I went out to a theatre store while Ben waited back at the hotel. At the store, I quizzed Rachel about what would happen if the three of us were shot and killed, and she correctly answered that Ben would become Batman.

She then threw cold water on the whole idea by pointing out that (1) Ben wasn’t with us as he would need to be were he to become the costumed vigilante, and (2) Carol and I weren’t wealthy philanthropists.

So, I guess it’s just as well that we weren’t shot and killed.

Yes, he's really a Muslim

President Obama recently said the quote below at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.  It rather distresses me because it's so awful, but it really does put the lie to the secret Muslim bullcrap.

And I thought about that moment all the way down the mountain, and I’ve thought about it in the many days since. Because I thought about my own spiritual journey –- growing up in a household that wasn’t particularly religious; going through my own period of doubt and confusion; finding Christ when I wasn’t even looking for him so many years ago; possessing so many shortcomings that have been overcome by the simple grace of God. And the fact that I would ever be on top of a mountain, saying a prayer for Billy Graham –- a man whose faith had changed the world and that had sustained him through triumphs and tragedies, and movements and milestones –- that simple fact humbled me to my core.

I have fallen on my knees with great regularity since that moment — asking God for guidance not just in my personal life and my Christian walk, but in the life of this nation and in the values that hold us together and keep us strong. I know that He will guide us. He always has, and He always will. And I pray his richest blessings on each of you in the days ahead.

Yeesh.  Pure nonsense.

NYC Final Night

We're on restaurant row (46th St.) for our last dinner in NYC. Ben chose sushi at Sushi of Gari 46. This check is gonna hurt.