From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
An Open Letter to Maine Voters
Dear Neighbor,
I'm writing to ask of you a small favor tomorrow. It'll take a few minutes of your time, but it's a simple thing and it would mean a lot to a lot of people.
Please make a note---a big one that you can't miss---to go to your polling place tomorrow and fill in the "NO" oval next to Question 1.
Last spring, after a lengthy statewide debate that gave both sides of the issue an equal chance to express their opinions and persuade our state senators and congressmembers of the pros and cons, the legislature passed a bill extending civil marriage rights to same-sex couples. The governor, bound by the state Constitution, signed it into law. But the law is on hold at the moment because a group of people filed a citizens veto petition and put "Question 1" on the ballot. If a majority of voters say 'Yes,' it'll be as if the law never existed.
So here I am this morning, standing a bit awkwardly in your virtual living room, hat in hand and palms a little sweaty, asking your permission---via the ballot box---for the right to marry my co-pilot in life. I promise I'll treat him with love and respect and dignity, in sickness and in health, as I---as we---have done for each other over the last sixteen years. Marriage would make doing that a bit easier. For example, it would give us peace of mind knowing that we won't have to go through the equivilent of a legal tollbooth on the inevitable day when one of us ends up in the hospital. (If it's him he'll probably blame my cooking---don't listen to him, he's delirious.) Hospital visitation is just one of many rights that civil marriage grants to those who accept the hefty responsibility of joining it.
I also promise that our union won’t interfere with your life or your religion. In fact the process itself is pretty mundane. If you allow the law to stand by voting 'No', it will simply allow us to go to the clerk's office at City Hall, fill out form VS2A-R ("Intention of Marriage"), pay the $30 license fee and, once that gets processed, pay another $120 for a city official to perform a civil ceremony that lasts mere minutes.
It almost sounds like one of those credit card ads. "Cost to marry your sweetie: $150. Joy of legally being recognized as equal citizens under state law and in the eyes of your fellow Mainers: Priceless."
I suppose that by now you've seen the 'Yes on 1' ads that claim gay marriage will be "taught in school," and I offer a few quick thoughts on that subject. First, they're only able to cite one case---in Massachusetts, not Maine---that was deemed without merit all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Second, local school boards decide what students will be taught, and in terms of trust and integrity and judgment Maine's school boards uniformly deserve gold stars. And third, teachers typically don't spend much time talking about marriage of any kind because, well, the subject does have a tendency to put kids to sleep. So those 'Yes on 1' ads really are, as the phrase goes, all bark and no bite.
I can't possibly repay you or thank you all personally for doing this favor. But I will promise you this if the 'No' side prevails and this important civil rights law is allowed to stand: if I ever win the lotto jackpot I'll throw the biggest public lobster bake you ever saw. Corn on the cob, baked beans, blueberry pie, Moxie by the barrel...the whole nine yards.
All I can do is ask (adding, "Please") and hope that this is one of those times when a stranger helps a stranger without necessarily getting anything tangible in return. But it'll mean the world to Michael and me, and scores of other committed same-sex couples in Maine (and their families and friends from Kittery to Fort Kent) if you'll make a note to go to the polls tomorrow and vote "No" on 1. Instead of erasing history, you'll be making it.
Sincerely,
Bill in Portland
(Third house on the left)
Urgent update from Paul Hogarth: We are providing FREE HOTEL ROOM SPACE in the Portland area for anyone from out-of-state who can make a spur-of-the-moment decision to drive up and volunteer. We have a block of rooms for tonight and tomorrow night, so people can stay until Wednesday. People who sign up at the Drive for Equality website will get a call back within 15 minutes. The phone number---someone will always answer it---is 415-935-4552. The polls are tight as a tick and it's not too late to influence undecided voters.
Make last-minute GOTV calls from out of state: Calls for Equality
Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Monday, November 2, 2009
Note: Hey, Republicans! There's gonna be too many voters out tomorrow, so you'll be voting on Wednesday instead! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!! That one never gets old.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til Election Day '09: 1
Days `til the premiere of The Wanda Sykes Show: 5
Number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq in October: 8
Number killed in Afghanistan: 76
(Source: iCasualties.org)
Amount the top ten airlines collected in baggage fees in the second quarter of 2009: $670 million
(Source: BusinessWeek via The Week)
Amount of snow Cheyenne, Wyoming got in October of 2008: 0.1"
Amount of snow Cheyenne, Wyoming got in October of 2009: 24"
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Howard...on Healthcare
Obama's proposed insurance regulations are very similar to what we adopted in Vermont in the 1990s. If implemented, no insurance company will be allowed to deny anyone healthcare for a preexisting condition, rescind coverage, or charge sicker people higher premiums. These rules are called guaranteed issue and community rating (that is, the group you join will be rated as a whole, not by factors such as illness or age.)
The truth is that insurance does not insure if it is unaffordable or unavailable when we fall ill and really need it. Insurance companies are always wary of these regulations. After we regulated the insurance industry in Vermont, several companies left the state. In fact, we were delighted to see them go. We now have, for the most part, a group of solid citizens selling insurance in Vermont, in both the private for-profit and the nonprofit sectors, as well as one of the highest coverage rates in America.
---From Howard Dean's Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform
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Puppy Pic of the Day: [Ring Ring!!!]
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CHEERS to November. 30 days of madcap madness! Thanksgiving, Veterans' Day, Election Day's tomorrow (tell me what's at stake, again?), Bonfire Night, Dag van de Dynastie, Dia de la Revolucion Mexicana, St. Andrew's Day, Buss und Bettag (50 percent off wienerschnitzel all day long!) and the Birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Ji...all in one month??? Pass the Red Bull---and then someone tell me where the hell August went.
JEERS to doin' the Wall Street Shuffle. What a difference a day makes. Last Thursday the Dow shot up 200 points and the Business section of the Portland Press Herald said:
Stocks logged their best day in three months as investors rushed into the market on word the economy grew faster than expected during the summer.
That's right...they rushed in because of the bullish Shangri-la that lay at their doorstep---miles and miles of money trees and fiduciary farms and streets paved with gold as far as the eye could see. And then the magic mushrooms wore off and this is what the paper said after Friday's 250 point loss:
Grim signals about consumer spending ripped through the markets Friday, sending stocks tumbling as investors raced for safe havens. ... The huge reversal in market sentiment reflected how desperate stock investors are to reach conclusions about how the economy is doing, and how quickly they are willing to abandon those convictions.
No shit! I bet Vegas casinos give these suckers free suites and liquor when they come walkin' through their doors. Aren't we lucky they rule our world. Yeah...rhetorical question.
CHEERS to Ol' Mullethead. Happy 214th birthday to James Knox Polk, the only Speaker of the House to become president (thank god the possibility of a President Dennis Hastert is long gone). Despite protests from some members of Congress, he "exaggerated" his way into a war with Mexico (something about the "smoking gun that could come in the form of an exploding burrito"). But he definitely walked the walk while he was in office. In the book Rating the Presidents (2000, Citadel Press), over 700 historians and political scientists rank Polk 11th-best:
Polk's outstanding success was no accident. He assiduously planned his moves and carried them through to fruition. Former president Harry Truman summed it up in his own concise way in 1960. When asked what he thought about Polk, he replied, "A great president. He said exactly what he was going to do and he did it." Quite an achievement for a president of any era.
Yeah, but a few months after he left office he was dead at 53. I guess in that context I don’t blame the current White House occupant for being a little squishy.
CHEERS to the battle of the brainless. Well, this is fun. Over the weekend the Republican candidate dropped out of the Congressional race for New York's 23rd District and then snubbed the creepy-lookin' Tea Party candidate (is that redundant?) in favor of her Democratic opponent. So, for those of you keeping score: the Rush Limbaugh/Sarah Palin/Michele Bachmann/Glenn Beck wing of the Republican party has officially one-upped the Newt Gingrich/Michael Steele/John Boehner wing...again. If you're in the D.C. area, you can see the doling out of the purple nurples on the Capitol steps around noon. Bring the kids and make a day of it!
JEERS to Darth Liar. It is becoming increasingly less controversial to state the obvious: Dick Cheney needs to go to jail. The latest of his exposed lies surprises me not a whit. Of course, he's calling it temporary amnesia:
Vice President Dick Cheney told the FBI he had no idea who leaked to the news media that Valerie Plame, wife of a Bush administration critic, worked for the CIA. ... Cheney's denials that he talked about [outed CIA agent Valerie] Plame are among the few things in the lengthy [2004] interview with the FBI that Cheney appeared certain about. ... Evidence at Libby's criminal trial showed that Cheney had told Libby about Wilson's wife in mid-June 2003.
So he lied to the feds that day. Which is kind of like saying, "He breathed air." Liz must be so proud.
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Five years ago in C&J: November 2, 2004
JEERS to vinyl booboos. C&J sat in on the Air America remote broadcast of The Al Franken Show at Merrill Auditorium in Portland Monday. Above the stage hung sponsor banners. One of them said: "Welcome to Maine, Katherine and Frank!" Fire that proofreader.
CHEERS to rising stars. As of tonight it's official---Barack Obama is a U.S. Senator. We shall be watching your career with great interest, young Jedi.
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And just one more...
CHEERS to Old GamblerPhilandererTeapotdomehead. C&J rules state that we never jeer anyone on their birthday. But that doesn’t preclude us from putting birthday boy Warren Harding---one of the three worst presidents in history along with James Buchanan and George W. Bush---down here in the C&J cellar. He was born on this date in 1865. One thing he shares with fellow Republican Dubya is his abuse of the English language, as when he said: "I would like the government to do all it can to mitigate, then, in understanding, in mutuality of interest, in concern for the common good, our tasks will be solved." And then he'll put food on your family and wings will take dream!
Have a tolerable Monday. Save energy by carpooling. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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