Jackie's Back
Well it has been a while since I have posted anything of any significance. I do not really have a solid excuse. I've been lazy. I think every so often you just get tired of talking. It isn't that I have been void of things to discuss, I just have not been able to muster the strength to log in and do it. Well that's all changed. And what a spectacular day to get back into it.
It may not be shocking to anyone to hear that I am elated about last night's election results. The Democrats did more than what was necessary to take back the House from the Republicans. Even without the Senate, this does something very important. It takes silly issues like the Federal Marriage Amendment off the table as an item of discussion. No longer can Republicans use that Amendment to demonize gay people in this country and win elections. At least for two more years. I think that is fantastic that the politicians there can erase one thing off their "To Do" lists and use that time in a more productive manner.
Winning the House also means that Democrats will have the highest ranking woman to hold political office as their Speaker. Madame Speaker Elect Nancy Pelosi will most likely replace Dennis Hastert as Speaker. Regardless of my own mixed feelings over Pelosi and her ilk, it is remarkable that after so long, a woman sits so close to the Presidency. She's a bit liberal for my taste, but I think she will make an excellent Speaker.
As for the Senate, I have said to friends for weeks that Virginia would decide this. While I thought it would be decided last night and while I am ecstatic that Webb surprised me by pulling ahead of George Allen, it does NOT surprise me that the power of the Senate will depend on who is victorious in that race. And sadly I don't think we will know for weeks. As a Virginia native, I did everything I could to convince family and friends to vote and to vote for Jim Webb. George Allen is a Republican of the worst kind. He's a bigot, a racist and a homophobe. I think America deserves better than that. Virginia most certainly deserves better than that.
I'd also like to thank those Virginia residents who voted against the Marriage Amendment. While it passed, not surprisingly, with a large vote, I was very happy to hear family and friends brag about how they voted against it because they know that not only was it unnecessary, but was simply wrong. It does hurt a bit that as Virginia edges closer and closer to being a purple state rather than a red one, that such measures of discrimination still bring voters to the polls.
But politicans alone aren't the only reason why last night's elections were so fantastic. Anyone who reads this blog knows that on occasion I post about issues regarding animal rights. I am happy that in Michigan, voters shot down Proposal 3 which would have opened up hunting season on the mourning dove, the state's official bird of peace, something not allowed since 1905. Voters in Arizona also passed Proposition 204, also known as the Humane Treatment for Farm Animals Act. While I am not a vegan and love some grilled chicken or a nice steak, I do believe that we should at the very least find the most humane way in which to slaughter livestock and give them as much dignity as possible while they are alive.
As the Senate hangs in the balance, I can relax a little knowing that the Americans have stood up and said no more. No more gay baiting as a distraction to a real lack of foreign and domestic policy. No more using religion to convince Americans that stem cell research is an abomination, as if the average American is too stupid to know better. No more using the word terrorism to terrorize the American public into believing that change means defeat. As I've written this post, Donald Rumsfeld has resigned as Secretary of Defense. If that isn't proof that your voice matters, let the turnout show you just how much it does. Democrats carried Montana by less than 2,000 votes. They will carry Virginia by less than 10,000. Your vote counts. Your voice counts. And when you use both, you can change everything.
God Bless America...for real.
It may not be shocking to anyone to hear that I am elated about last night's election results. The Democrats did more than what was necessary to take back the House from the Republicans. Even without the Senate, this does something very important. It takes silly issues like the Federal Marriage Amendment off the table as an item of discussion. No longer can Republicans use that Amendment to demonize gay people in this country and win elections. At least for two more years. I think that is fantastic that the politicians there can erase one thing off their "To Do" lists and use that time in a more productive manner.
Winning the House also means that Democrats will have the highest ranking woman to hold political office as their Speaker. Madame Speaker Elect Nancy Pelosi will most likely replace Dennis Hastert as Speaker. Regardless of my own mixed feelings over Pelosi and her ilk, it is remarkable that after so long, a woman sits so close to the Presidency. She's a bit liberal for my taste, but I think she will make an excellent Speaker.
As for the Senate, I have said to friends for weeks that Virginia would decide this. While I thought it would be decided last night and while I am ecstatic that Webb surprised me by pulling ahead of George Allen, it does NOT surprise me that the power of the Senate will depend on who is victorious in that race. And sadly I don't think we will know for weeks. As a Virginia native, I did everything I could to convince family and friends to vote and to vote for Jim Webb. George Allen is a Republican of the worst kind. He's a bigot, a racist and a homophobe. I think America deserves better than that. Virginia most certainly deserves better than that.
I'd also like to thank those Virginia residents who voted against the Marriage Amendment. While it passed, not surprisingly, with a large vote, I was very happy to hear family and friends brag about how they voted against it because they know that not only was it unnecessary, but was simply wrong. It does hurt a bit that as Virginia edges closer and closer to being a purple state rather than a red one, that such measures of discrimination still bring voters to the polls.
But politicans alone aren't the only reason why last night's elections were so fantastic. Anyone who reads this blog knows that on occasion I post about issues regarding animal rights. I am happy that in Michigan, voters shot down Proposal 3 which would have opened up hunting season on the mourning dove, the state's official bird of peace, something not allowed since 1905. Voters in Arizona also passed Proposition 204, also known as the Humane Treatment for Farm Animals Act. While I am not a vegan and love some grilled chicken or a nice steak, I do believe that we should at the very least find the most humane way in which to slaughter livestock and give them as much dignity as possible while they are alive.
As the Senate hangs in the balance, I can relax a little knowing that the Americans have stood up and said no more. No more gay baiting as a distraction to a real lack of foreign and domestic policy. No more using religion to convince Americans that stem cell research is an abomination, as if the average American is too stupid to know better. No more using the word terrorism to terrorize the American public into believing that change means defeat. As I've written this post, Donald Rumsfeld has resigned as Secretary of Defense. If that isn't proof that your voice matters, let the turnout show you just how much it does. Democrats carried Montana by less than 2,000 votes. They will carry Virginia by less than 10,000. Your vote counts. Your voice counts. And when you use both, you can change everything.
God Bless America...for real.
posted by Carrie Broadshoulders at Wednesday, November 08, 2006
2 Comments:
You said it with a lot less tongue in cheek than I did, a lot more detail, and a lot more seriousness than I did. Which is to say, better. All seriousness, it’s a pretty big deal that the Dems were able to pull it off. The other important thing for me is the fact that the gay marriage amendment didn’t get Allen over the top, even though it passed fairly easily. Maybe they’ll stop trotting out ballot issues that are nothing more than a way to get bigots to the polls if it stops working all the time.
Sadly, the marriage definition amendment passed here in Colorado. Plus, the equal rights for GLBT peeps didn't pass.
Damn those conservatives out in the sticks!
At least, The Gays still have equal rights here in Denver.
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