Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Tag: Democrats

Friday Notes. Sorta.

I was going to link to Mike@Blueweed’s excellent The Tyranny of Quaint with a bit of mocking about how he needs to write more, but I think I need to take some Windex to this glass house, first.  So, here goes:

Remember, no matter what happens next Tuesday, “it’s good for conservatives“:

There is nothing, nada, zilch, zero, nothing, that is bad news for conservatives. When they win elections, it proves we’re a conservative country. When they lose, it proves it. When we pass health care bills, it proves it. When we lower taxes, it proves it. When we raise taxes, it proves it. Everything proves it always.

Always.

~

Of course, Democrats do have a pretty solid claim on the suckage:

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) has proposed a variety of ideas on how to advance the [DC voting rights] bill. But the reaction from party leaders, as the Web site Politico reported, seems to be “forget it.” No doubt Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), looking ahead to his own tough reelection battle, sees no gain in irritating the powerful gun lobby. In fact, Mr. Reid voted for the Ensign amendment, making it easier for other Democrats to follow suit. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says that she’s looking for opportunities to pass the bill, but to date that hasn’t involved pressing members to put principle ahead of political interests. President Obama, who sponsored voting rights legislation as a senator, has done nothing on the issue.

~

This man built a Pan Am 747 First Class cabin in his garage.  I’m not saying it’s okay, but I understand.

~

There are, in fact, clever people with a sense of fun in DC.

~

Aww, are “good white people” are under threat in the US?:

Here’s one of the “questions” asked in the poll, tailor-made for Fox News Channel:

Federal Communications Commission Chief Diversity Czar Mark Lloyd wants the FCC to force good white people in positions of power in the broadcast industry to step down to make room for more African-Americans and gays to fill those positions.  Do you agree or disagree that this presents a threat to free speech?

It’s worth noting that this question only elicited 51 percent support.

Hilarious.

~

The willingness of Redskins fans to support an organization that does this continues to be beyond my grasp.   I’m not a football – or really even a sports – fan, but I moved to DC right after Jack Kent Cooke died in 1997, and haven’t been able to escape Redskins news since then.  And you know?  It’s been uniformly shitty the entire 12 years.  Why, people?

~

Former Murky Coffee owner, tax cheat, and douchebag extraordinaire Nick Cho finally got booked on tax charges.

~

If you ever leave me again,
I’ll down a bottle of
baby aspirin:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqBWMUMhIGE[/youtube]

Update: Wait, forget that crap copy.  Go here and enjoy the extraordinary talents of Subtle Sexuality’s  fabulous KELLY KAPOOR (and erin hannon).

~

Readability helps with exactly that.  I like it.  Very much.

~

How the public lost out on the battle between Big Pharma and generics.   It’s a short but informative look into one of the many battles with big consequences for the costs of health care.

~

I find my stuff in the most interesting places.  (Okay, it’s probably not that interesting to too many people beyond me, considering the dearth of entries.  But still.)

~

I know it’s supposed to be satire, but I kinda wonder if Ken Cuccinelli wrote this.   Cuccinelli is the GOP candidate for Virginia Attorney General, and is such a bigot that even the normally spineless VA Log Cabin Republicans not only won’t support him, but are calling for his defeat.  That link also helps illustrate why I think libertarian support for GOP candidates is misplaced (and that’s putting it very kindly):

No real libertarian has a record (like Mr. Cuccinelli does) of
· Opposition to repealing the state sodomy law, even though it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
· Opposition to allowing private companies to offer health and life insurance benefits to domestic partners of their employees
· Opposition to prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for state and local government employees
· Opposition to allowing local governments to choose what benefits they give their local employees
· Opposition to any kind of legal protections for gay and lesbian couples, even the limited rights embodied in domestic partnerships or civil unions
· Support for banning gay/straight alliances in public high schools
· Support for state funding of abstinence programs

Each one of those stupid little Gadsen flags ought to have an asterisk at the end of “Don’t Tread on Me”, leading to a “Tread On Him, Instead.”  That would be a far more honest and accurate portrayal of the beliefs of the vast majority of “libertarians.”

DC Makes Me Proud

Today:

An overwhelming majority on the D.C. Council voted today to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, sending the District deeper into the national debate and galvanizing supporters on both sides of the issue.

The measure, approved by a vote of 12 to 1, now goes to Mayor Arian M. Fenty (D), a supporter of gay marriage.

So all set, right?  Well:

If Fenty signs it, the District will put the same-sex marriage issue directly before the Congress. Under Home Rule, the District’s laws are subject to a 30-day congressional review period.

Cue the Congressional clowning in 3, 2, 1 . . .

Aww, Blue Commonwealth Quits

Blue Commonwealth collapsed under a pile of childishness, self-obsession, and pointlessness today, and it appears to be done for.  If you’re a reader looking for an alternative, I suggest checking out the New Dominion Project.  I’m a fan of the primary authors, and while there are still some rough edges in the site itself, I think that place has a good future.  If you’re a regular BC front-pager?  Please don’t go over to NDP.  Just sit and think about what a ridiculous mess you made, and go do penance by doing something useful, for once.   Like volunteering.  Offline.  For a while.   Through June, at least.

[Update: While I’m recommending places, I might as well toss in a link to the Angry Potato.   Funny and foul, but most of all – smart.  Not a combination I’ve seen anywhere else in VA online Dem politics (well, Blueweeds gets the funny and smart nod, but it gets totally outclassed in the foul dept.)]

Virginia Primary Childishness (Current Edition)

Mike over at Blueweeds says what ought to be said:

I have been trying to stay away from the increasingly odd temper tantrums promoted by the MacAuliffe “netroots” supporters over at Blue Commonwealth and  Blue Virginia.  There is a level of self importance which I do not understand, which is bad for the party, and which makes folks like myself, whom I would describe as true neutral grassroots Democrats who have zero interest in being employed by any campaign, want to do anything other than support the candidate jammed at me by the self-described progressive netroots bloggers.

This sort of childishness has happened every cycle since the Miller-Webb primary, and every time, it does a little more damage.  If you’re part of it, stop it.  If you’re in the audience, get up and leave.  And for fuck’s sake, Virginia Democrats, stop rewarding it.

The Best Write Up of the State of Virginia’s Democratic Prospects

If you care a whit about Virginia Democratic politics, you should read Hank Bostwick’s What we learned about the VDP at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner right now. I’ve not seen – anywhere – a better write up of what Democrats are facing in this year’s gubernatorial primary and general elections.

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén