From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
Maine Votes in 49 Days
By now the world knows that the right-wingers got Proposition 8 to swing their way mainly by scaring Californians with the notion that marriage equality would lead to indoctrination of their kids---including teaching gay sex to 7-8 year-olds---in school. (Karen Ocamb has an excellent blow-by-blow account at Dirigo Blue). It was pathetic, craven and dishonest...but it worked. They made same-sex marriage look evil the only way they could---by doing the political equivilent of yelling "Fire!" in a crowded movie theatre.
In 49 days, Mainers will go to the polls and vote on whether or not they want to repeal the marriage equality bill that was passed here by our state House and Senate last May and then signed into law by our governor. A 'Yes' vote repeals it. A 'No' vote keeps it in place.
(Contrary to what many people outside of Maine believe, no same-sex marriages are taking place here now---the law was put on hold because of the referendum. It's kinda like being at a birthday party where everyone gets a piece of cake, but yours gets yanked away so that the other kids can "debate" whether or not you should have it---half of them stomping around, insisting you'll destroy not only all present and future cakes but the bakery industry itself if you're allowed to have your little sliver.)
The opposition---led by the same liars and scaremongers that marketed Prop. 8---have been sharpening their spears for months. Last week they revealed their strategy, and it looks sleazily familiar. As in California, they're going to use children as both their battering ram and their shield. Portland Press Herald columnist Bill Nemitz got word of a mass email sent out by the group "Stand For Marriage Maine," and here it is in blech and white:
Which of the following does not belong in the same group as the others: A) History B) Mathematics C) English D) (in bold-face type) Homosexual Marriage. The letter then congratulates those who chose "D," noting, "Maine's public schools should focus on reading and writing, not mandatory gay sex education." ...
In case you didn't get it the first time, [SFMM chairman and PR head for the Catholic Diocese of Maine Marc] Mutty goes on to warn, again in bold-face, that "if marriage is redefined to be genderless, then same-sex marriage must be taught as being the same as traditional marriage."
And finally, the money pitch: "We need your immediate contribution of $100, $50 or even $25 to keep homosexual education out of Maine's classrooms."
Which reminds me of a well-worn joke: How do you know when right-wingers are lying about same-sex marriage? When their lips are moving.
Will their strategy work in Maine? Hard to say. We've had gay-rights referendums go the wrong way before (those were the good old days, when we were accused by our opponents of eating our own feces and having a thousand sex partners a year---ahh, those crazy 90's!), and this one could, too. Yes, we're a "live and let live" state (in spirit if not always in practice---we are, after all, the birthplace of prohibition). Yes, we're surrounded by states (and Canada) that have also passed marriage-equality laws. Yes, our side is determined not to repeat the mistakes that were made during the Prop. 8 campaign on the other coast. But it all hinges on---in chronological order---voter awareness and voter turnout during a really, really, really off-year election. Says Jesse Connelly at the "No on 1" campaign:
Television is one of the most effective ways to reach voters. We know that our opponents have already reserved $700,000 in TV time this month. And get this---they’re paying actors $500 a day to pretend to be real Maine teachers and waitresses. [The Mainers in our ads are real.]
Last week Kossacks raised a quarter of a million bucks for Rob Miller in response to Rep. Joe Wilson's "You Lie" moment. If we can collectively raise a mere one-tenth of that this week in response to the wingers' "We Lie" email, the impact would be huge. My partner and I will go first---we're in for a hundred.
Maine is also known as the "As We Go, So Goes the Nation" state. That, too, doesn’t always hold up in real life. (Three words: we picked Kerry.) But I have a sneaky feeling it just might in this case. I say it's high time we found out.
Update via Chino Blanco: The first "Yes on 1" TV ad---starring some marble-mouthed John Ashcroft clone from out of state---starts airing today. They're using children as their battering ram. As predictable as the sunrise, these people.
Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Note: President Snowe says she would appreciate it if you would sacrifice a little more for your country, please. Together we can make a difference!
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the Emmy Awards: 5
Days `til the 37th annual Corvallis Fall festival in Oregon: 11
Decline in U.S. births last year: -2%
(Source: The New York Times)
Estimated number of cars that it takes to produce as much CO2 as a single large cargo ship: 10,000
(Source: Harper's Index)
Number of years out of the last eight that that median income has fallen in the U.S.: 5
Cents on the dollar that women made in 2008 for every dollar earned by men: 77
(Source: USA Today)
Age of our microwave oven: 24 years
Patriots 250 Bills 24
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Tuesday Words of Wisdom from the Right-wing Blogosphere:
I wonder how many people are on her "necklacing" list. Considering I lived in that part of the world for half my life, I am still waitng for Dear Leader and "Winnie" to come out one day in some sort of uniform to address their "troops". The more I watch this the more I am convinced this is fast becoming Uganda.
---Commenter "spicyckes at the Michelle Malkin blog
All together now: One...two...three... Classy!!!
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Puppy Pic of the Day: If I'm reading correctly, this Chinese aristocrat is busting with pride because she paid someone 598-thousand bucks above retail for this pooch. Nice work if you can get it!
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CHEERS to great selection, a convenient location and fast, friendly service to meet all of your online bidding needs. Ya got here just in time to watch me fire the starting pistol to kick off the biggest event of the day:
ka-THWOOOOOOOMP!!!
Did I say pistol? I meant bazooka. (Cool---now the Burger King across the street has two drive-thrus!) The annual Netroots Nation auction (which, coincidentally, is how Sean Connery pronounces "oxen.") is now open for your auctioning pleasure. I believe you can still donate items---details on how are here---it's easy. There's something for everyone (T-shirt autographed by Bill Clinton, anyone?) and the proceeds go to fund the annual NN convention and regional get-togethers. Go look around! I have two items in the "political memorabilia" section and one in the "nude floor buffing" section. Transportation and barrel of Murphy's Oil Soap not included. (And tips are appreciated---I put on a good show.)
JEERS to missing the forest for the trees. As they have with many topics (Iraq, FISA, torture) the traditional media, in my opinion, is doing a less-than-stellar job educating the public on health care reform. Instead of actually spending their time debating the various elements of proposed legislation, they blow through a huge number of column inches and TV segments prematurely declaring that the American Health Freedom Act (aka the public option) is DOA. In other words, Congress is still in the towel-snapping phase, and the media "loves a good fight...even when the charges are unfounded." Which reminds me of something you probably don’t know: Barney Frank = New Bedford towel-snapping champ three years running. Flicked a wart clean off a flea's ass from ten feet in a gale. Blindfolded!
CHEERS to News McNuggets. On this date in 1982, `USA Today' was published for the first time. Critics called it "The Nation's Comic Book" and the winner of the "Pulitzer Prize for Best Investigative Paragraph." Twenty seven years later, the critics are still eating their dust. Story on 6A.
JEERS to an icky day to take your kids to the mall. It was "All Hitler All the Time" over the weekend in our nation's capitol, as the teabaggers, gullibly following the orders of their astroturf masters, Dick Armey and the Fox Opinion Channel, assembled to hate the president for stuff he hasn’t done and things he hasn’t said under the bogus guise of caring about the deficit. When it was all over, organizers claimed that over a million people were there, even though the actual number was closer to 60 thousand. They later admitted that they had confused the number of attendees with the number of spelling errors on their signs. No biggie.
JEERS to not-so-happy morning trivia. Q: Who started out his career in 1970 as Jimmy Carter's driver and ended up as his press secretary six years later? A: Jody Powell, whom Jimmy Carter said knew him better than anybody except Rosalynn:
ABC newsman [Sam Donaldson] recalled just how close Powell and Carter were. "Once I went into his office and asked him what Mr. Carter was going to do about something, I can't remember exactly what it was," Donaldson said. "’I don't know,’ said Jody, ‘hold on.’ He left and in about ninety seconds returned. ‘He's going to do 'X,’ said Jody, having gone right into the Oval Office and asked. Now, that's service!"
Powell died yesterday at 65. Our condolences to his family. We trust that Robert Gibbs will observe a moment of silence during today's White House press briefing. It would be appropriate, respectful...and a welcome bit of relief to our ears.
CHEERS to leaders who live LARGE. Happy 152nd birthday to William Howard Taft. At 325 pounds, the 27th President was also our, um, "biggest boned." It's believed that his weight contributed to the fact that he was habitually sleepy. From Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents by Cormac O'Brien:
William Taft had an alarming habit of dozing off at the drop of a hat. And nothing was so important that it couldn’t be slept through---including cabinet meetings, funerals (he was in the front row of one when a catnap came over him), and campaign engagements. He once slept through a campaign motorcade in New York City---his open car cruised the streets, the great man snoring for all the city to see.
Pay your respects here. And if ya don’t mind, toss in a bucket o' ribs.
CHEERS to disciplining the unruly child. Today the House will actually stand up to a thug Republican---Joe "Not the Ambassador" Wilson---and formally vote to issue an official tut-tut because he broke House rules last week when he heckled the president. It's actually not as mild as it sounds---he also loses his assless chaps privileges in the House dining room for a month. (Jean Schmidt says it makes you feel lost and lonely.)
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Five years ago in C&J: September 15, 2004
CHEERS to conservatives in liberal clothing. Not sure how me missed this excellent essay by Michael Moore, but here's his fantastic journey into the schlumpnutty mind of Joe Middle Class Republican. C&J adds: "Back home, Joe falls asleep in front of the TV, his lit cigarette tumbling from his lips to his lap. Thanks to safety regulations passed by liberals, his Rush Limbaugh jammies are fireproof. Nighty Night."
CHEERS to switch-hitters. 70 members of the Nader 2000 Citizens Committee---including Naom Chomsky, Jim Hightower, Studs Terkel and Tom Tomorrow---come out publicly for Kerry-Edwards. That leaves him with only one supporter: the Republican National Committee.
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And just one more...
JEERS to hailing the conquering heaver. Okay, okay, we get it. Muntadhar al-Zeidi threw his shoes at Bush in December and we all had a good laugh over it. But now that he's out of jail (as of yesterday), he's being lavished with gifts: like "a fully furnished two-story villa in a posh section of Baghdad," an offer of "$10 million for the famous shoes," free health care for life, and even a tribal leader who wants to send him "a young woman from his family 'loaded with jewels and gold'" Um, Sheiks and Sheikettes? Don’t forget: he missed. Twice. Oh-for-two. Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn’t been recruited by the Washington Nationals by now.
Oh, and let there be no doubt: this was Patrick Swayze's finest moment. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
"Bill, I love you more than my luggage."
---Kossack CityLightsLover
9/9/09
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