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“Blah, blah, blah Obamacare”. say Republicans. I say “Get over it.” This day the House is going to vote on Michelle Bachman’s House Bill Number One, to completely abolish Obamacare…..
Of course it is ridiculous. And if the entire Republican contingent votes to undo it, the entire Republican contingent as I have said all along and most of America agrees, is ridiculous…. The best thing Republicans can do for their party is censure Michelle Bachman by having this bill go down to inglorious defeat…. Because this will bludgeon them in 2014.
My title said “Cherries”… So here is the cherry… an account from someone upon getting insurance for the first time… and reflecting upon how it feels…
Obamacare is good. People want it. We need it badly. We have it. No one is going to take anything away from the American People that they want without losing the fight….
Partisan Politics Above The Nation’s Good... That banner hangs in the RNC’s Washington DC Lobby…. and is the first thing one sees upon stepping in….
The internet will be abuzz with posts shortly. The excitement was great. No one knew if it would pass. It did.
Melanie _____.______. Smith (lol) Girl you did it. Hats off to a rather well crafted bill designed to make it through. You earned your bottle of wine tonight.
Bryan Townsend is amazing.. A Patrick Henry when it comes to what is just. I kept seeing Tony Deluca in that position, knowing full well we would have an entirely different outcome had it been so.
Patty Blevins as should be, worked the background brilliantly. Knowing what must take place to do these things, she gets a shout, because the quiet ones, are the ones you have to watch… It takes a lot of structure to put on a pageant such as this…
Clothier, Marshall and Bushweiller had tough choices.. out of a thousand voices in their ear, they chose to hear the right ones. We are so small standing next to them.
Karen Peterson rocked the house. “If my happiness somehow demeans or diminishes your marriage, you need to work on your marriage” certainly seems like it would apply to Senator Venables. That dude has some work to do…..
In this hearing and vote, it becomes very clear. If you look straight into the heart of America, each and all the values we grew up under, the Democrats embody.
The evil that also lies in America, is Republican to the core… Never in my lifetime did I expect to see people use God to promote bigotry. For as the vote was failing, as the house of sticks was crumbling around them, as they worked themselves into a fever pitch to make one last gasp to undo the damage, the clear, unadulterated hatred, the pure crystal of evil burned from underneath their skin. Hatred. Hatred at all these people was their fuel.
I now know what those brave souls walking across the bridge at Selma saw in the eyes looking back. I now know what those women in children sleeping in Wounded Knee saw when their tents were slashed open. I now know what those female slaves in Alabama saw in their overseer’s eyes… I now know what every Southern black African American man saw, when he heard the phrase… Boy, better move a long now, you know you don’t belong here.”
Because I saw it staring back at me on the floor of the Delaware Senate. It was in each of those Republican’s eyes as they got up and tried to embarrass, put down, demonize an innocent group of people they deemed inferior, beneath them, slovenly, trash. It was in the eyes of every fake pastor or priest to got up to twist God’s word in such a way as to demean the very one whose words they praise on Sunday.
This is the undercurrent of America we don’t like to talk about. This is the sewage that come with building a society. This is America’s most horrible accomplishment. The underbelly of our just laws and our freedom to say or do what we please. There are people who only gain worth by putting others down, and because they are Americans, they have every right to do so. Prejudice will continue.
Seeing it in person was unnerving. Seeing it for real made one sick. We have a real problem in our country, One that must be put down like a poisonous snake… Sure we can live with it. But one day it will bite us, or even worse. Our children….
But today, we beat them. Like George Wallace in the schoolyard doorway, they showed America the stinkin oafs they truly are….
The only reason they voted no… was to fuel their hate. Delaware and America can and need to do much better…
And lastly. Bethany Hall- Long….. Oh my… it takes great courage to stand up to one’s enemies… It takes even greater courage… to stand up to one’s friends….
I have to go now. I cannot fight back the tears…
Today at 2:00 the vote will begin on House Bill 75. . It will replace Delaware’s Civll Union law with that of marriage. For gays it is the end of a long hard fight to gain respectability; after all the jeers, self-loathing, insults, hurled their way, they are human in every regard known to man. The last distinction will be dropped.
This moment will also determine the future of the Republican Party. Those that vote no against this proposition, will wear it around their necks indefinitely. Times are changing and Republicans have only two options left…. They can be known as being one who opened the door, or as one on the other side, trying to block it and keep it shut.
History is not kind to those on the wrong side. The Herbert Hoovers. The Richard Nixons. The George W. Bushs… That is the side on which you will be. Particularly if you staked your vote on doom and gloom arriving at our doorstep, and nothing happens, Your past words will get thrown back at you every time it helps someone else get ahead….
But what if Republicans voted for it unanimously? What would happen if the Republican Party also said Yes to HB 75? it would electrify the party. Republicans would no longer be the footstool that gets kicked around because it is always in the wrong part of the room.
If Republicans voted yes to HB 75, there would be no reason NOT to vote for Republicans in 2014. All the stereotypes would shatter as if in a thousand pieces of glass… All that old baggage that hits you squarely on the head every single time you campaign, wouldn’t be there…
People for the first time since the 90′s, would see you as human beings who are individuals and have the thoughts they do, not because the are injected with a chemical, but because those conservative thoughts make real good sense…
Once you get a reputation, small changes don’t change it. It takes something really big, huge, to shatter an old reputation and be seen in truth for what you are….
This is that opportunity for the Republican Caucus. You are Senators. You vote for your constituents as well as your state. What is morally right is unquestionable here. Single sex marriage hurts no one and is the only fair vote possible. What is questionable, is your courage to accept it. Correct me if I’m wrong, but all of you have staff or friends of family who are gay. You KNOW the stuff being said against gay marriage is crap…
Do you have the courage to do the right thing? Of course you do. You are Republicans in a Democratic state… You have tons of courage. But do you have the will to unite in solidarity and have the entire Republican caucus vote Yes to single sex marriage?
If you don’t, it will haunt you till the end of your days….
Does anyone remember Senator Robert Byrd, longest serving US senator in history? Well, every time he was introduced on television while alive and even at death, it was always accompanied by the acknowledgement he was once a Grand Dragon of the Klu Klux Klan… He long ago apologized he was wrong, but that option had made great sense to him at the time.
Remember this, as you vote. History is fickle if it doesn’t go your way….
My friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of committed marital love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite these two people in marriage. In the words of our Creator, what God hath brought together, let no one cut asunder.
The commitment that the two of you are about to make, is the most important commitment that two people can make; you are about to create something new, the marriage relationship, an entity that never ends.
As you stand here today, are you now prepared to begin this commitment to one another? (I am)
Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage? (I have)
I would ask that you both remember to treat yourself and each other with dignity and respect; to remind yourself often of what brought you together today. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your marriage deserves. When frustration and difficulty assail your marriage – as these do to every relationship at one time or another – focus on what still seems right between you, not only the part that seems wrong. This way, when clouds of trouble hide the sun in your lives and you lose sight of it for a moment, you can remember that the sun is still there. And if each of you will take responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight.
Will you have this person to be your wedded partner? (I will)
Will you love and comfort then, honor and keep them, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto them as long as you both shall live? (I will)
Will you have this person to be your wedded partner? (I will)
Will you love and comfort them, honor and keep them, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto them as long as you both shall live? (I will)
Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right-hands, and declare your consent (before these witnesses) by repeating after me:
I, take you to be my partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. Take this ring as a sign of my commitment and fidelity to you. …
I, take you to be my partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. Take this ring as a sign of my commitment and fidelity to you.
In so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your commitment to each other by these vows, (and) the joining of your hands (and the giving of these rings), by the authority vested in me by the State of Delaware, I now pronounce you a married couple. Congratulations, you may now kiss as a married couple….
Ladies and Gentlemen here who are witnesses. May I present to you the world’s newest couple….
Awwwww. How can anyone vote against something as wonderful as that?
To be brief: it is one of the founding principle of this nation that one has the right to be happy. (That comes of course with the price of not making others unhappy.) In making single sex marriage legal, one has to look at all options and answer these questions…
Is is unfair to allow heterosexual couples rights not allowed to single sex couples?
Yes, it is unfair. Anytime there is a double standard, … it is unfair. (That is actually the proper definition of the word unfair: ie. employ a double standard.)
Will single sex marriages cause any harm to anyone?
No, it will cause no harm. Whether someone two counties away lives in a civil union or a legally sanctioned marriage will not affect me (or you) one way or another.
There you have it.
Allowing Single Sex Marriages will repair an injustice and will not cause any harm when it is done.
Meaning the only two reasons to vote against it, are because you purposefully want to be unfair, … or you purposefully want to harm someone.
Passing this is a no-brainer. If we are going to start listening to Christian fundamentalists, then we had better be prepared to listen to Islamic mullahs, Jewish prophets, as well as every Wikkim candidate for office… Sure they have a right to speak, but we have a bigger right to ignore them.
Passage of this is a no-brainer because it corrects a longterm unfairness without hurting anyone in the process….
When you discuss single sex marriage with Conservatives you discover early on that they really don’t have a problem with single sexes marrying and living together over a lifetime in a relationship of trust; they just don’t like gay sex.
For them, as soon as sodomy laws went off the books, society went to hell…
Not every one is going to enjoy gay sex. Just like everyone is not going to enjoy heterosexual sex. People are different. People want different things.
But Gay Marriage is not about gay sex. Just like heterosexual marriage is not all about vaginal sex. How do we know this? Because before Viagra, heterosexual marriages still lasted till the end of a partner’s lifetime, way long after sex was a distant memory.
Marriage has nothing to do with sex. Never has. Never will. Marriage is about the pursuit of happiness. It is a) about being wanted, b) about showing your love, and c) about taking care of the one you love after you’ve passed on.
Conservatives have big misconceptions when it comes to what marriage is… It is not about family. Large numbers of heterosexual couples do not have children. It is not about the particular God of their ancestors; marriage stretches across all religions. It is not about sharing lives together till the end; that doesn’t happen very often these days. Divorce does.
And Marriage is not about wholesomeness. I could meet someone of the opposite sex and walk into a courthouse somewhere, get married and that document would be honored anywhere in the world. It makes no difference to anyone if I just met a perfect stranger and tied the knot on a whim. All that matters to them is that I have a document…
For you see, because I’m heterosexual and because Conservatives even though they dispise women still don’t hate heterosexuals, as one, I can marry…. and so can you.
So in essence, the sole reason boiling down to having a sanction as to why gays cannot marry, is because if we do allow them to do so, then they are no longer subservient to us. They are not a “caste” beneath us. They are equal and can then heaven forbid, be free to climb up the status ladder to levels even above us. Yep. that is the only Conservative argument still standing as to why gays should not get married….
The way they say it when they’re stone-ass drunk? You can’t get married because I’m a bitter old fart and my life sucks so you are going to have to be more miserable than I am… , so suffer bitch….
I couldn’t have characterized conservatives any better myself….
Whereas that characterization may have been perfectly fine if we lived in Idi Amin’s Uganda all the way back in the 70′s, it doesn’t represent the values within our Declaration of Independence. Nor does it reflect the principles of our Constitution.
All men are created equal. It does say “all”, correct?
Granted. It took America too long to realize that people with melanin in their skin were people too. It took America too long to realize that people with estrogen and breasts, were people too. It has likewise taken too long for America to understand that people who like people who happen to be of the same gender as themselves, are people too….
It is simply time, ladies and gentlemen.
(And who says they have to have sex? You? Who probably haven’t gotten “the good stuff” in your marriage for… how long?)
It is simply time.
Jeff Christopher followers stage a show of force to give Sussex County an idea what will happen once a sheriff gets full power to make arrests base on his arbitrary judgment.
All three of his followers think this is what America needs more of.
Tom Carper came out publicly for the end of DOMA and the support of same sex marriage.
Although some may snipe it is politically motivated, it isn’t. It just is what is right. Period.
Courtesy of Tom:
“As our society has changed and evolved, so too has the public’s opinion on gay marriage – and so has mine. I pray every day for God to grant me the wisdom to do what is right. Through my prayers and conversations with my family and countless friends and Delawareans, I’ve been reminded of the power of one of my core values: the Golden Rule. It calls on us to treat others as we want to be treated. That means, to me, that all Americans ultimately should be free to marry the people they love and intend to share their lives with, regardless of their sexual orientation, and that’s why today, after a great deal of soul searching, I’m endorsing marriage equality.”
Going against the platitudes one has been brought up under is always hard. It takes great courage to step out into nothing but air and hope the bridge forms under ones feet……
Thank you Tom for taking that step.
Editors Note: John C arney came out in support the day before. The entire Delaware Congressional Delegation is now anti- Conservative on this issue. Since fewer Conservatives exist today then there were domestic Marxists in the 1960′s, this should be interpreted as simply the mainstreaming of our current delegation.
By coincidence, two articles came up side by side. One involved the verdict of the Steubanville case and the other a very racist incident at a CPAC forum in DC yesterday.
In both, the perpetrators were southern white males who think they world owes them everything, who felt they were entitled to do whatever they wished simply because they were southern and white.
In one a woman was raped and left for dead.. In another, a shouting match occurred between white supremacists and very conservative Afro Americans, right inside the CPAC forum itself…..
The Steubenville verdict went against the males, but the whole town had rallied around the football star who performed the rape, bragged about his conquest, and painted the woman as one causing the crime. Her crime he said? She went to a party… Implication?. If you don’t stay at home, you are legally allowed to be raped…
This is the typical thought process among conservatives, even here in Delaware… To them the law exists only to protect the rights of the most powerful. The law protects wealth. It matters little what the law actually says on paper. If you know a sheriff (even if he is only a paper pusher) you can get out of any crime you want… BAM! Case dismissed.
Likewise. in the CPAC discussion, in trying to “teach” conservatives how to talk about “those people” the example of Frederick Douglas, a former Republican, was brought up as the proper example..
“Frederick Douglas forgave his slave masters.” The reply was: What!! For giving them food? For giving them shelter?”
The conversation then turned vicious on all those Conservative Afro Americans in the presence of that group…
“I don’t care how much the KKK improved,” one said. “I’m not going to join the KKK because the Democratic Party founded the KKK.” (If it was founded by Republicans, he’d join; just like he was against Republican healthcare only because Democrats borrowed it and ran with it).
When one conservative who took offense at the suggestion modern Democrats were descendants of the KKK, tried to ask a question later once things finally calmed down. She was booed and screamed at by audience members.
“Let someone else speak!” one asshole in Revolutionary War garb shouted.
“You’re not welcome!” a white-haired older woman named Eileen, yelled.
Many of the conservatives interviewed said they enjoyed the event. ”Bout time the truth ’bout us whites got out there..” ”They were just telling the truth,” another said.
As the media swarmed around the white supremest, a woman wearing a Tea Party Patriots CPAC credential who had shouted down Brown earlier urged him not to give his name to the press. When asked, she wouldn’t give her name either..”.There’s no doubt the white males are getting really beat up right now cause they’re stupid! , It’s unfair,” she said. “I agree with that!. My husband’s one of them. “
Another said…” if you let Blacks cast a fraudulent vote you are depriving someone else of the right to vote, because you are canceling a vote that was legitimately cast by White people.,” he said ” white culture was being denigrated” “I’m not going to make a general statement about that, but obviously whatever culture you come from there’s somebody who is opposed to it,” he stammered.
CPAC later sent a white washed email to TPM that blamed the entire disruption upon a black woman who supposedly worked for the government of Russia…..
And despite the prayers of the townspeople of Steubanville, all three males were guilty as charged of multiple rape…..
So what does this have to do with you?
If you give up. If you relax and stop fighting. If you turn your attention elsewhere for a brief moment, this ugly undercurrent which is very strong, will surge, rise up, overrun and ruin your lives….
We can’t have that. The last election is not over. There is another one coming up in less than 20 months… One has to hold the Republican Party accountable for sanctioning and allowing these people to represent them. The Republican Party needs to cut these awful people off. It needs to say, “you are not my child; from now on, you do not exist…”
The slime will then, without attention or support, crawl back into their holes and go away….. There will always big, fat, ugly earthworms… Fortunately they always remain underground and we never see them…. Only when the Republican Party cultures them and brings them out into the open… ….. Only when it rains.
Point is. If the Republicans don’t call these horrible people out, and excomminicate them entirely from the party, no one! no one! should vote for any Republican until they are gone!..
Btw, things are going very well in Delaware with an all Democratic government top to bottom. Perhaps the rest of the nation would like to have things work out well too?
At least, have a party that doesn’t promote the rape of women and racist violence against anyone who is not a dumb white male?
Scientific discovery proves that algorithms can accurately write our entire psychological profile based off of our normal social media habits….
The details are rather interesting.
So.
What do we do about it?
