Why Are You Mad Now?

As Congress gets back to work after the August silly season when right wing nutjobs protested a "study hard, stay in school" message from our President, this seems to me to be the obvious question still lurking in the muddled undercurrent of what passes for public discourse these days:

Why are you mad NOW?

You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative was outed.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act was passed.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

You didn't get mad when we spent over $600 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.

You didn't get mad when over $10 billion just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn't get mad when you saw the Abu Ghraib photos.

You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.

You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.

You didn't get mad when we let a major US city drown.

You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.

You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans...oh hell no.

[With thanks to Keith Dinsmore, the brilliant man who worked so hard to elect Rob Hubler to Congress last year. ]

Why the Right-Wing Really Opposes Health Care Reform

A WTF Moment at Lunch

Last Saturday, my husband and I stopped at a local fast food joint while we were out shopping.

As we were finishing our meals, we noticed that the receipt reflected a discounted price. Specifically, we had been given a 10% senior citizen discount.

The cashier never asked my age, nor did I ask for a discount. Granted, I no longer look as young as I once did and my hair is more gray than whatever its natural color used to be. But I am still under 50, at least for two more months.

I don't know whether I should be amused or horrified.

Steve King has Competition

Who would have thought that Steve King has serious competition for dumbest man in Congress?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Chuck Grassley's Debt and Deficit Dragon
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Spinal Tap Performance

Don't forget kids, this idiot is up for reelection next year.

Update: For some reason, this video is not appearing in some browser windows. I do not think it's a problem with Blogger, I think it might be on the host website at Comedy Central. If the video does not appear in the above window, just click on the title to be taken to the original website. You can view it there without issue.

More Bullshit Falls from the Mouth of Chuck Grassley

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R - Arrogant) continues to disseminate lies about the public health care option.

Yesterday, while participating in a call-in radio show on Iowa City's KCJJ, Grassley pulled out the GOP's favorite falsehood about public-run health care: rationing care for senior citizens. In illustrating his point, Grassley said that Senator Ted Kennedy (D - Lion), whose fight against brain cancer is well known, would not get the same health care in a country with socialized medicine that he does here because of his age.

They're going to kill your grandparents! Be afraid!

Of course, the biggest problem with Grassley's argument is the fact that Senator Kennedy, just like every other member of the Senate and Congress, has public (government-run) health care! Do you see that public system rationing the Senator's health care? I don't think so.

Senator Grassley, the GOP and the right-wing talking heads have been hard at work spreading lies and scaring people into thinking that universal health care is a bad thing.

The simple fact is that it is good for the country in so many ways. They say we can't afford to give everybody health care.

I say we can't afford not to.

Call Senator Grassley. Tell him we want the public option. We want everybody to be covered. And we want him to really start representing Iowa.

While you're at it, remind him that he's up for reelection next year. If he wants to keep his job, he should remember what Iowa really wants.

Iowa, This is Your Senator

Senator Chuck Grassley (R - Deaf and Dumb) is the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. As such, he has a great deal of influence while the Senate considers health care reform.

The number of uninsured Americans is currently close to 50 million. In Iowa, some nine per cent of the adult population is uninsured. Those who are lucky enough to have health insurance face soaring premiums, denial of services and uncaring providers who are more concerned with making a profit and paying exorbitant salaries to their executives than actually providing health care. The system has gotten so bad that 72 per cent of Americans supported public health care in a recent poll by CBS News.

As a member of the United States Senate, Chuck Grassley gets some of the best health care available--and it's a public system, paid for by our tax dollars. In fact, Grassley was first elected to Congress way back in 1959, so he's been on the public plan for a very long time!

Considering the dire straits that Americans in general and Iowans in particular face, wouldn't you think that Senator Grassley would support a public health care option to give health care to Iowans? But no. While acknowledging that there are severe problems with our current health care system, Senator Grassley has also been quite vocal in opposing any sort of public health care option, saying that the "free market" is the best way to fix our health care problems.

At a recent town hall meeting, our good Senator showed exactly how little regard he has for his constituents. Watch this exchange between the Senator and an Iowan who wants nothing more than access to the same excellent health care enjoyed by Grassley:



It's a little hard to hear on the tape, but Grassley's answer to the question is for the gentleman to get a job with the government if he wants health care!

For the last week or so, I have been sending Senator Grassley daily messages through his web site demanding that he support a public health care option. Today I received this reply:

Thank you for taking the time to email me with your concerns with the creation of a government-run health insurance plan. As your Senator, it is important for me to hear from you.

I appreciate hearing your opposition to a government-run health insurance plan in the United States. Like you, I do not view the federal government as the best solution to administering our health insurance. I support a more market-based approach that allows people the freedom to choose their health insurance plan while maintaining certain protections to ensure that they are receiving quality health insurance.

As you know, the United States health insurance system is driven by the private market rather than by the government, which allows each citizen to make his or her own decisions about health insurance. I have found that most people would rather have control over their own health insurance rather than have the government make the decisions for them. Despite the advantages of our current system, however, there are also many problems. There are millions who are uninsured in the United States, and the cost of health insurance keeps increasing every year.

Over the past several Congresses, legislation has been enacted to cover more low-income children and improve the quality of care, but more needs to be done and I will continue to review ways to strengthen and to improve health care in this nation.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, I am working to address the high costs of health care, as well as the growing number of uninsured people in the country today. As you can imagine, these are complex issues, and there are a number of proposals to be considered.

As the Committee and Congress head down this path, I believe it will be critically important for us to keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to these problems. I believe we must bolster the individual and employer-based insurance markets by crafting a public policy that encourages affordable, accessible coverage. We must also lower costs for consumers by promoting efficiency, encouraging prevention and rewarding quality.

We have a strong bipartisan will to tackle the problems facing our health care system. Although some progress has been made, much more remains to be done. I'm looking forward to working with our President and my colleagues to accomplish this goal.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I may be of assistance with any federal matter. My offices in Iowa, as well as in Washington, D.C., are here to serve you. Keep in touch!

Sincerely,

Chuck

I can not figure out if the Senator and his staff do not read messages, or if he is so arrogant that he doesn't care what his constituents think.

Call Senator Grassley, bombard his web site, let him know what Iowa really thinks of his attitude.

Senator Grassley is up for reelection next year, in 2010. Let's not forget what Senator Grassley thinks of Iowans in the next election. It's time for this pompous airbag to go.

The Real Threat to Marriage

Pardon Me, but Your White Hood is Showing

This is a story that I thought could never happen today. Unfortunately, it shows just how prevalent racism still is in our society.

The Creative Steps Day Care, a facility in Philadelphia has no swimming pool to call its own. With the heat of the height of summer, day care staff tried to find places for their kids to swim and cool off.

The day care paid fees to a number of swimming pools, including The Valley Club, a private facility in suburban Philadelphia.

But when the kids showed up to use the pool, a number of them reported hearing racial remarks. One of the kids on tonight's news said that he heard a woman ask an employee "what are they doing here?"

Did I mention that the children served by Creative Steps Day Care are predominantly minorities?

So The Valley Club refunded the money and asked the kids to leave.

Segregated pools, lunch counters and other public facilities are not appropriate in our society. The racist attitudes and actions of the Valley Club are completely inexcusable. Whether it was the board of the club, or the members matters very little. We must not allow this kind of bigotry in our society to stand.

These are children, for pete's sake!

Today, the web site for the Valley Club has been hastily reconstructed to contain a single statement that they "deplore" racism and denies the allegations. But it does not say who was responsible for this disgusting act.

I think everybody should call them and ask. Their phone number is (215) 947-0700.

With Thanks to Randi Rhodes

Do you know the difference between Sarah Palin and the Panama Canal?

The Panama Canal is a busy ditch.

Dear Senator Ensign and Governor Sanford

It seems we owe you an apology; you were right.

Senator Ensign, as an evangelical Christian and member of Promise Keepers, you promoted yourself as a beacon of morality, of fidelity and staunch defender of Traditional Marriage. You have done your level best to legislate against the rights of same-sex couples positing that allowing those loving, committed deviants to legally protect those relationships would destroy marriage as an institution and society as a whole.

Governor Sanford, while not necessarily an evangelical, you have been just as vocal about your disdain of same-sex relationships and fearful of the damage they would cause. As a Congressman, you earned a 92% favorable rating from the American Conservative Union due to your insistence that equality does not pertain to all people. The only reason you missed getting a perfect score was the pesky vote you cast against preserving historical sites related to the Underground Railroad. Perhaps you thought that slavery was another institution that needed to be defended.

Both of you have held yourselves up to your constituents and fellow citizens as shining examples of morality. Your incessant preaching and proselytizing could only mean that you were both completely committed to the sanctity of your own marriages and families.

Then the unthinkable occurred.

Just over three weeks ago, my partner and I were legally married in our home state of Iowa. In addition, gay couples achieved a small measure of equality in Nevada (your home state, Senator Ensign) with the passage of domestic partner legislation, despite the governor's veto.

Senator Ensign, we recently learned that you have been having an affair with a campaign staff member. Worse yet, your lover's husband worked for you as well. Your wife has stated that you and she have sought counseling and found some sort of reconciliation. But the husband of your lover has said that your actions have left his life and family in shambles and may be suing you for financial restitution.

Oh dear, oh dear. But it gets worse.

Governor Sanford, you flew thousands of miles to South America, where you were having an affair with an Argentinian beauty. You disappeared for several days, lying to your staff about your location and making yourself unavailable and unreachable. You left your state with no leadership and questions about who was in charge. Your wife has asked for a trial separation and may soon divorce you.

So these paragons of virtue, these righteous men who wanted nothing more than to defend the sacred institution of marriage have now fallen. I can't help but feel personally responsible, since these revelations came out after our marriage on June 3rd.

It seems the two of you were correct. Same-sex marriage will destroy the sanctity of traditional marriage. Families will crumble and society as we know it will come to an inglorious end. How can you doubt it? Since my marriage to my partner, we have personally destroyed two, and possibly three, sacred, traditional, marriages and ended two promising political careers.

I am so sorry for destroying your marriages. But I have to end now: I have this sliver in my eye that needs to be removed.

The Top Ten Reasons Gay Marriage Will Never be Legal in This Country

1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

[With thanks to my fellow blogger, The Immoral Minority, who got it from the co-chair of the Anchorage Assembly, which has been debating a gay rights ordinance in the City.]

What is Marriage?

Just in case you were wondering, Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian explains it all to you:

This Time There is No Doubt

This morning, shortly after 11:00 a.m., my partner and I were married in a civil ceremony at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse. It was just us, two dear friends as witnesses and the judge who performed the ceremony. It was over in five minutes and we all went to one of the casinos for lunch to celebrate.

It was so low-key compared to the first wedding in San Francisco five years ago. In San Francisco, there were literally hundreds of couples, along with various family, friends and others. There were dozens of volunteers performing one wedding ceremony after another while a line of couples waited for someone to be free.

But, as we walked away from City Hall that day, we both knew that our marriage was technically not legal. After all, same-sex marriage was not recognized in California at the time; this was before the Supreme Court ruling that made marriage equality possible and before the hateful Prop. 8, which took it away. Even if we were legally married in California, Iowa did not recognize our marriage under its Defense of Marriage Statute.

Today was completely different. There were no cheering crowds in front of the courthouse, nor were there any protesters. There was only one other couple being married this morning, and they were a "traditional" couple. It was just another normal business day at the courthouse.

Exactly the way it should be.

I liked the symbolism of the two couples being married this morning. There was a man and a woman and there was my partner and I. Same ceremony, same license, same treatment. Exactly alike under the law. As the years pass, both couples will be treated equally by the state of Iowa. Neither marriage detracts from, or diminishes, the other. Our neighbors are still married, their relationship is not falling apart because we are now treated equally.

It was silent as we walked out of the courthouse this morning. The few people outside went about their business. The earth continued to turn on its axis. For most of you, nothing has changed. But, for my partner (now spouse) and I, we walked away knowing that this time we are recognized by the state and we are entitled to the same rights, privileges and responsibilities that most people have taken for granted for so long.

Thank you Iowa.

Big News Coming Wednesday

Stay tuned.

Karma is a Real Bitch

We share our home with a number of animals. Currently, we are owned by three dogs and two cats. We have also been involved in several rescue operations over the years, helping other animals to find permanent homes.

The most recent addition to our household was Crystal, who came to us in late 2005. I found out about Crystal from my friend L, who told me that a friend of hers had a miniature pinscher puppy that needed a home. We made the arrangements and Crystal became a part of our brood.

What I did not know at the time (nor do I believe L was aware of it either), was that Crystal had been abused in her previous home. She came to us with a lot of baggage and issues. One of her biggest problems is jealousy of the other animals, particularly Penny, the other female dog.

We have had to break up a number of fights between the two of them. Crystal is almost always the aggressor, and freaks out if we show Penny too much attention. One of the worst fights occurred about three years ago. I was home alone with the animals when Crystal attacked. In trying to separate them, I accidentally got my hand in front of Penny's face and was bitten. She laid my hand open from the knuckles to above the wrist, an injury that required medical attention.

Fortunately, over time, the problems have gotten better; although we do still occasionally have battles.

About a year ago, we had another altercation. After separating the two combatants, Crystal was placed outside in the yard to cool off and bark out her aggression. While outside, Crystal saw fit to mess with a wasp that was minding its own business and was stung in the neck. The swelling made her look as if she had tried to swallow a golf ball. She was sore for several days, but recovered completely. She seemed to associate her own injury with the fight she had with Penny and we had no further incidents.

Until last Tuesday. This time my partner was home by himself when the fight started. Again, and fortunately, there were only minor injuries, although Penny has been a little sore.

Some time, we think, on Friday, Crystal tangled with a wasp again. This time she was stung on the side of her snout, about an inch below her eye. Although there is less swelling, there seems to be more pain this time. She kept both of us awake most of the night because she was too sore to lie down and kept whining all night long. She is getting antihistamines for the allergic reaction and pain medication.

Hopefully, she will again assume that this injury resulted from her own actions with Penny and we will get over this jealousy thing. She had been submissive to Penny since the sting, something we are trying to encourage.

Some times karma bites you on the butt. And some times it stings you on the nose.

Iowa's Governor Does the Right Thing

When the Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Varnum v. Brien, the suit that ultimately brought marriage equality to the state, Iowa Governor Chet Culver called upon the court to deliver a quick ruling. He further stated that if the ruling came down in favor of marriage equality the Legislature should immediately pass a constitutional amendment that would have created a separate class of citizens who were not deserving of equal rights under the state's Constitution. The Governor went so far as to hint that he would call a Special Session of the Legislature to deal with this issue.

I roundly criticized Governor Culver in this forum and sent him an angry letter that I also posted here. I pointed out that marriage equality is a civil rights issue and is something that the Governor's own party platform supports.

For the longest time I heard nothing from the Governor's office. When I finally received a reply, Governor Culver stated exactly the positions I feared he would take. At that time, I promised myself that I would do everything I could to oust him from office in the next election and replace him with a real Democrat who believed in the ideals of the Party.

Last month, when the ruling in Varnum v. Brien was announced, the Governor's office was strangely silent. After several days, the Executive Office announced that the Governor wanted time to examine the ruling and discuss it with the state's Attorney General. At least it was not the knee-jerk reaction I had been expecting.

A week or two later, the Governor announced that he would respect the court's ruling and was reluctant to make any call to amend the Constitution. While I was happy with this announcement, the change in message surprised me somewhat.

Last week, I received a letter from the Governor's Office concerning this issue. I have posted a scan of the letter below, but I want to point out a couple of specific points that the letter makes.

I want to emphasize that the question before the Iowa Supreme Court was one of civil marriage only - a state-recognized legal status constituting a civil contract. Civil marriage always has been, and will continue to be, separate from religious marriage that takes place in churches and places of worship....

The Iowa Supreme Court's decision has, in fact, reaffirmed that churches across Iowa will continue to have the right to recognize the sanctity of religious marriage in accordance with their own traditions and church doctrines. The Supreme Court's decision does not require that churches recognize marriages between persons of the same gender or officiate over such unions. The court does not have, nor should any court ever have, that kind of power over our religious lives. Our churches and places of worship are free to decide for themselves, as they were before, who may enter the sacred covenant of marriage....

The Governor gets it and recognizes that the meat of the Court's ruling made a clear distinction between the civil contract of marriage, recognized and protected by the state, and that of religious marriage. Saying that all couples are deserving of equal rights under the law in no way takes rights away from "traditional" marriage, nor does it demand that any church bless same-sex unions if it chooses not to do so. The ruling merely mandates that the state do so. Churches are still free to do as they wish according to their tenets.

The letter continues:

Yet, the Supreme Court of Iowa, in a unanimous decision, has clearly stated that the Constitution of our state, which guarantees equal protection of the law to all Iowans, requires the State of Iowa to recognize the civil marriage contract of two people of the same gender. The Court also concluded that the denial of this right constitutes discrimination. Therefore, after careful consideration and a thorough reading of the Court's decision, I am reluctant to support amending the Iowa Constitution to add a provision that our Supreme Court has said is unlawful and discriminatory.

As Governor, I must respect the authority of the Iowa Supreme court, and have a duty to uphold the Constitution of the State of Iowa. I also fully respect the right of all Iowans to live under the full protection of Iowa's Constitution.

Those who don't believe in equal rights for everybody want to subvert the authority and role of the court by enacting legislation that overturns a lawful ruling. The court's job is not to make laws, but to interpret existing laws to see if they pass Constitutional muster. The court correctly ruled that this law did not. That is how our system of checks and balances works.

Governor Culver recognizes and respects the part the judicial system plays in our system of government and will uphold the law, even if he personally does not agree with it. This is exactly the type of leader I want in office.

The Court's ruling is not about churches, or the right they have to practice their religion as they see fit. It is about the right of all people in the great state of Iowa to be free from discrimination and to live equally with their neighbors and fellow Iowans with the same rights that we all deserve.

Thank you, Governor, for recognizing this fact.