Those damn activist judges! How dare they snub the religous right – who put them in power after all! – by not ruling that discrimitation against those gays is in fact legal…

Seriously though, chalk one up for states rights on this one. If people in Alabama think that it’s OK to discriminate (and they did, as recent as 40 years ago), power to them. But if a group of people in Wisconsin, Mass., or California decide that they aren’t threatened by gay people, they should be able to legislate accordingly, without the federal government trying to impose it’s will upon them.

It’s good to know that with all the problems facing the American economy today, our elected officials are tackling the tough issues like, “Why doesn’t the President have a yacht?”.

Thankfully, the yacht problem is no longer an issue because the Senate approved $2 million to purchase the ‘Presidental yacht’. Our schools must be fully funded, social security is all set, every single soldier has the body armor they need, because otherwise we wouldn’t waste two million dollars on a yacht, right?

Congress cuts college loans to low-income students.
House Republicans block 9-11 intelligence reform.
Permanent tax cuts that benefit the uppper 2%.
Enacting discriminatory anti-gay legislation.
Spending two million on a yacht.

Clearly, the people in charge of our government are fixing America’s most pressing problems.

Today I share with you the first in a series of upcoming examples of how the Republican party, the party of ‘values’, feels that it can change the rules (any rules) to not only benefit them, but to get them out of trouble as well.

Actually, the first good example of this might have been how they changed the redistricting rules in Texas, so that all the Democrats would be virtually guaranteed to lose their House seats. On a slightly related topic, today’s “Changing the Rules”:

House Republicans were contemplating changing their rules in order to allow members indicted by state prosecutors to remain in a leadership post, a move designed to benefit Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in case he is charged by a Texas grand jury that has indicted three of his political associates, GOP leaders said today. – Washington Post

Indeed, if you know you’re about to get nailed, just change the rules so getting nailed doesn’t prevent you from changing the rules in the future!

I’m sure DeLay is wishing that he could change the ‘rules’ concerning what the law considers ‘illegal corporate campaign contributions’ as well.

As widely expected, John Ashcroft resigned as Attorney General, which is a good or bad thing depending upon how you look at it. Good in the sense that we won’t have a anti-liberty, big business loving, Jesus Freak dictating government law enforcement anymore, but Bad in the sense that we’ll no longer be safe from crime and terrorism.

From the pen of Johnny himself:

The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved.

Whew! Don’t we all feel much much safer now that despite never actually convicting anyone of terrorism in 3 years, the security of the American people has been achieved?

Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to have an Attorney General who isn’t offended by half naked greek statues.

As the pain starts to wear off a bit, it’s getting easier to digest everything that’s happened in the past 48 hours. I think a lot of that has been covered in the comments here the past few days, but just wanted to say for the record:

- Kerry/Edwards was a great ticket, probably the best the Dems could have put together last year, and for sure the ones who could and did give Bush/Cheney the best run for their money.

- I realize the ‘youth’ vote did turn out in greater numbers than 2000, but so did every other demographic out there. For them to be as helpful as we needed them to be, they needed to show up in greater numbers compared to other demographics, not just compared to themselves in 2000.

- Thanks to everyone who’s been chiming in here and via email over the past few days.

- I think this election was a lot closer than people (esp. the Pres/VP) seem to understand. He won with the lowest percentage of electoral votes and popular vote of any incumbant, he was at a 70% approval rating eighteen months ago (when most potential candidates we’re deciding whether or not they’d run), and if a few ten thousand people vote the other way, I’m cheering for a Kerry/Edwards win. Squeeking by with a 1.5% margin of victory does not a ‘mandate’ make.

- The Democratic party does need to get it’s shit together, but the Chicken Little predictions for our future if we don’t embrace religion and ‘traditional values’ are highly overstated.

- Thank god Tom Daschle lost. Honestly, when the supposed leader of our party is the most spineless of them all, something is seriously wrong. And, as a former South Dakotan who met him and knows one of his top level aides (sorry Willard) I can get away with saying that.

- Thank god for Harry Reid. As a former resident of Nevada, I can also get away with that. Our new party leader in the Senate actually has a spine and isn’t afraid to use it. He is a great negotiator as well, something we’ll need in the next 2 years.

- God help the pro-choice movement. With GWB going to have a few picks for the SCOTUS, wave good bye to a woman’s right to choose. And I say ‘God’ there because our new Supreme Court won’t have any problem making the seperation of Church & State go the way of dodo. Also: say hello to an erosion of your civil liberties, and if you’re gay/lesbian, Clarence Thomas would kindly prefer it if you got back in the closet thank you very much.

- Kids, start saving now. Not for a new bicycle, college, or your first car… But to pay off the national debt we’re going to run up on your asses. And our social security. k thx bye!

- The country isn’t getting more conservative, no matter how much the talking heads on TV say so. The conservatives just vote more than we do, and their leader says God speaks to him. Christian conservatives espeically like it when God talks to their leaders..(Mosses, Abraham, Jerry Fallwell, etc..). Anyone who thinks this country is getting more conservative needs to leave their 7 bedroom house in the suburbs, get in their SUV and drive into any major city in America (you won’t get mugged.. promise!). America’s Liberal urbanism will hit you harder than that lesbian stoner on her bong on Brady street. In all seriousness, we’re not getting more conservative, you’re just getting old.

- Finally, while I’m disappointed in the way things turned out, I’m also genuinly frightened for all things things I didn’t mention above like our environment, gay rights, our dependance on oil, and the fact that we’re stuck for another four years with the guy who can’t articulate any better than the seal at Sea World can while honking out ‘It’s a Small World’ on those horns. And screw the whole, “Well I could see myself having a beer with him” line. Our president doesn’t fucking drink beer! And when was the last time you heard a member of the Christian Right say anything like that anyways?? Our kids are going to be dealing with a lot of the decisions which will impact us all in the next four years.

So when you take them to Yellowstone National Park in 15 years, and they ask you why the rivers is dirty, the trees are cut down, and there are oil drills dotting the landscape, remember election day 2004.

I’m out for a few days for some R&R and to put the election out of my mind.

Well not too much to say really. Bush won again by a slim margin, and the House/Senate will see an increase in the number of Republicans.

I’m pretty down about it to be honest, and I think a lot of other dems are too. We really put a lot into this race and losing is a huge let down. I really expected things to be a lot closer than they were last night, but America narrowly believes that GWB has better ‘moral characteristics’ than Kerry which is what won him the race.

By that of course, they mean he wears his religon on his sleeve, but it’s a moot point.

I’ll probably have more on things later, but if you have a minute, check out this post I wrote after the 2002 mid-term election which sums up some of what I’m feeling right now. One part I would like to call attention to is this piece from 2 years ago:

When 2004 does roll around and the country is still in the same mess we’re in now, it’ll be interesting to see who the GOP tries to blame. Their nation-wide campaign slogan this year was, “Give us control and we’ll make America better”. So when the next election comes our way, and the GOP has been unable to fix anything they said or promised they would – even with the full control they so desperately sought in 2002 – they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.

Are we better off than we were in 2002? The GOP has been in control of the federal goverment for the last 2 years, and we’re worse off in a number of ways as a country today. Last night, the GOP increased it’s power for another four years, and I want to ask the same question again…

With a clear majority in the House/Senate, four more years as President, and a few Supreme Court picks on the way, the GOP is clearly in control here in America. When 2008 rolls around and we’re still in the mess we’re in now, who will the GOP blame next time?

Clinton? Again?

Anywho, more later….

It looks like Ohio is going to decide who wins the Presidential election, but on the whole it hasn’t been a great night for Democrats. Apparently there are a large number of absentee and provisional ballets to be counted in Ohio which will decide things, the result of which we won’t find out about untill tomorrow at the earliest.

I’m honestly surprised and a bit disheartened that things are turning out as they are. Still hoping for Ohio to go our way. Please go our way…