Per Paul's post below...
"This bill simply adds confusion to a constitutional issue," the Republican governor said in a veto message.
Leave it up to judges? But I thought... Oh, right. You're all disingenuous plonkers.
Dear California,
You’d probably have been better off with Gary Coleman. But at least you’re not stuck with Mitch Daniels.
Love,
Shakespeare’s Sister
Distractions are fun. Like judges and wildfires and hurricanes. They let you veto stuff on the sly.
SACRAMENTO, Calif, - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger followed through Thursday on his promise to veto a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, leaving the issue up to voters or judges who will likely face the volatile issue in the next year.
"This bill simply adds confusion to a constitutional issue," the Republican governor said in a veto message.
Schwarzenegger had announced his intention on Sept. 7, a day after the Legislature became the first in the country to approve a bill allowing gays and lesbians to wed.
-snip-
"He cannot claim to support fair and equal legal protection for same-sex couples and veto the very bill that would have provided it to them," Leno said. "Words are cheap. We're looking for action. We're looking for leadership."
In his veto message, Schwarzenegger said he supports the state's domestic partner laws, which give same-sex couples most of the rights and obligations of married couples, and would oppose efforts to overturn or weaken those statutes.
Judy’s out of jail.
Have to admit, I don’t care all that much about old Judy, but I do find this rather intriguing:
Miller agreed to break her silence and testify after receiving what she described as a voluntary and personal waiver of confidentiality from her source, identified as Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby.Clearly, I don’t know whether any laws were violated or not (although I must say it certainly seems that way), but I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to suggest that no matter whether indictments are brought or not, there were some obvious ethical violations, which no one needs a special prosecutor to sort out.
Lawyers close to the case said Miller's testimony appeared to clear the way for prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to wrap up his 2-year-old inquiry into who in the Bush administration leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity and whether any laws were violated.
Newshog, the best kept secret in the liberal blogosphere, and authored by a lovely Scotsman and friend.
No Blood for Hubris, the name of which alone warrants space on the old blogroll, but trust me, there’s more than just an excellent name there.
Thou Shall Not Suck, for which I am a guest blogger today as part of a series of guests, while its author, Mark, who just had back surgery. (Get well soon, Mark!)
Prairie Angel, because I can’t resist a gal who will title a post Well, Fuck.
Emphasis Added, because Salkowitz has got it going on all over the place.
Days, because I dig Jed’s stuff and the “More” feature.
Dictionopolis in Digitopolis, for muppet blogging, among other things.
As always, leave me pointers to your blog in comments. And if there’s someone I’ve promised to blogroll and haven’t, just remind me again. The noggin isn’t fully functional today, I’m afraid.
I tell you one thing... it don't smell like victory.
Army in Worst Recruiting Slump in Decades
WASHINGTON - The Army is closing the books on one of the leanest recruiting years since it became an all-volunteer service three decades ago, missing its enlistment target by the largest margin since 1979 and raising questions about its plans for growth.
Many in Congress believe the Army needs to get bigger — perhaps by 50,000 soldiers over its current 1 million — in order to meet its many overseas commitments, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army already is on a path to add 30,000 soldiers, but even that will be hard to achieve if recruiters cannot persuade more to join the service.
Officials insist the slump is not a crisis.
The factors working against the Army, Hilferty said, are a strong national economy that offers young people other choices, and "continued negative news from the Middle East." To offset that the Army has vastly increased the number of recruiters on the street, offered bigger signup bonuses and boosted advertising.
You are about to be visited by the spirit of Shakespeare's Sister!
In hamburger form.
Billy Goat Tavern to Open in D.C.
CHICAGO - The Billy Goat Tavern, a local institution made famous by the "Cheezborger, Cheezborger" sketch on "Saturday Night Live," is setting up shop in the nation's capital.
Sam Sianis said there won't be any "No Republicans Allowed" signs like the one "Billy Goat" Sianis put up in 1944 when the Republican National Convention was held in town.
"We might put a sign to allow both sides," Sam said, noting that when his uncle put up the sign, the next thing he knew the place was wall to wall with Republicans.
I don't even know how to properly express my gratitude to everyone who has shown such an outpouring of kindness toward me today. I really don't feel as though I can say thank you enough, or convey how deeply appreciative and genuinely moved I am.
Your support has been absolutely overwhelming, and I feel extremely humbled and very lucky, on a day when luck seemed far away.
Thank you for your help and support and encouragement and suggestions and kind words, from the bottom of my heart.
(This post will stay at the top for awhile; new posts below.)
Well, all the joy I felt yesterday has evaporated in record time. Last night, Mr. Shakes and I got a notice that our property tax had been increased 100% on our matchbox of a house, and effectively immediately, our monthly payments would be increased by 20%. Then this morning, I got laid off. Wish we didn’t have to, feel terrible, no money and all that.
So, I’m pretty desperate at the moment, and although I hate to do this, I’m asking for donations. If you like Shakespeare’s Sister and if you can afford to, I’d appreciate it if you could help out, because now this is the only job I’ve got.
There are links to PayPal and Amazon in the lefthand sidebar.
And if you’re in Chicago and know of any openings, I’m available!
UPDATE: A couple of people have asked to see my résumé to get a feel for what I do, so I've put it online, with contact information and company names blacked out.
Word
Those who have asked me to email it, I'll email the unedited version. Thank you all so much for your support. It really means more than I can say.
Well, since my canned ass isn't doing any writing except my résumé this afternoon, here's an open thread for discussion about how the idiot Bush administration has totally fucked you or someone you know. As for me, I guess I'd have to say aside from trying to criminalize the relationships of GLBTs I love (and all those I don't know personally, come to that), taking the country to war resulting in the deaths of thousands of soldiers and countless Iraqi civilians, letting perhaps thousands of people die in hurricanes, encroaching on our civil rights, and all that other shit, having the starving beast come to my door for his next two meals is ranking right up at the top of my list.
We can't have nice things.
Judge orders release of Abu Ghraib photos
NEW YORK - Pictures of detainee abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison must be released despite government claims that they could damage America's image, a judge ruled Thursday.
The American Civil Liberties Union sought the release of 87 photographs and four videotapes as part of an October 2003 lawsuit demanding information on the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody and the transfer of prisoners to countries known to use torture. The ACLU contends that prisoner abuse is systemic.
"Our nation does not surrender to blackmail, and fear of blackmail is not a legally sufficient argument to prevent us from performing a statutory command," the judge wrote in his 50-page decision. "Indeed, the freedoms that we champion are as important to our success in Iraq and Afghanistan as the guns and missiles with which our troops are armed."
Second Verse, same as the First! (Bolds mine)
Gen: Al-Qaida Seeks to use WMD in the Mideast
WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida is the main enemy to peace and stability in the Middle East and the terrorist group is seeking to acquire — and use — weapons of mass destruction there, a top U.S. commander in Iraq told Congress.
"The enemy that brought us 9/11 continues to represent one of the greatest dangers to this nation," warned Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command.
President Bush sent the group to Capitol Hill to try to convince lawmakers — and their skeptical constituents — that the United States is making progress in the war. The back-to-back hearings in the House and Senate are part of a White House effort to bolster slipping public support for the war.
After weeks of being criticized for his hurricane response, Bush also is trying to put the focus back on issues considered his strengths — the fight against terrorism and Iraq.
The president plans to address the nation Oct. 6, following speeches on Iraq by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney over the next few days.
Before the Senate panel, Abizaid stressed the difficulty the U.S. and coalition forces face in the region against an enemy driven by their religious beliefs, and said the Al-Qaida threat "should not be underestimated."
He said Americans should be assured that people in the Middle East "don't buy this perverted view of Islam."
"They do not want the extremists to win," Abizaid said.
David Michael Green at Common Dreams:
That scraping noise you hear? It's the sound of sheepish voters creeping out to the garage late at night, furtively removing "Bush-Cheney 2004" bumperstickers from the back of their SUVs when no one is looking…Via The Green Knight.
Uh, very. And well before Katrina hit our shores.
Former FEMA director Michael Brown was warned weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit that his agency's backlogged computer systems could delay supplies and put personnel at risk during an emergency, according to an audit released Wednesday.You’ve got to love that reasoning. The report is misleading because FEMA’s system was never designed to track supplies, even though FEMA’s mission during disasters is rapid response and coordinating efforts among federal, state, and local authorities. How do you coordinate efforts—efforts which by any stretch of the imagination would include getting much-needed supplies to the people who needed them—if you have no supply-tracking mechanism in place? The report isn’t misleading; not having such a mechanism is exactly what a phrase like “operational inefficiencies” means.
An internal review of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's information-sharing system shows it was overwhelmed during the 2004 hurricane season. The audit was released a day after Brown vehemently defended FEMA for the government's dismal response to Katrina, instead blaming state and local officials for poor planning and chaos during the Aug. 29 storm and subsequent flooding.
The review by Homeland Security Department acting Inspector General Richard L. Skinner examined FEMA's response to four major hurricanes and a tropical storm that hit Florida and the Gulf Coast in August and September 2004. It noted FEMA's mission during disasters as rapid response and coordinating efforts among federal, state and local authorities.
"However, FEMA's systems do not support effective or efficient coordination of deployment operations because there is no sharing of information," the audit found. "Consequently, this created operational inefficiencies and hindered the delivery of essential disaster response and recovery services," it said.
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said parts of the report were misleading because FEMA's system was never designed to track supplies — although it is now testing a Global Positioning System program, used during Katrina, to do just that.
In an Aug. 3 response, Brown and one of his deputies rejected the audit, calling it unacceptable, erroneous and negative.Re: ice, a report on NPR this morning included a statement from Brownie, in which he said he didn’t believe providing ice so that people’s “hamburger” wouldn’t spoil was the responsibility of the federal government. Whether he was being deliberately flippant or simply doesn’t know why ice is important, I don’t know—but providing (or coordinating provisions of) lots of ice very quickly has historically been a primary FEMA objective, because in any disaster it has been needed to keep medicines (like insulin) cool and to prevent dead bodies from rotting. It’s not generally regarded as an item offered to average civilians to keep their milk from going off.
"The overall tone of the report is negative," wrote FEMA chief information officer Barry C. West in an Aug. 3 letter that Brown initialed.
"We believe this characterization is inaccurate and does not acknowledge the highly performing, well managed and staffed (informational technology) systems supporting FEMA incident response and recovery."
Among the problems the audit identified:
_FEMA's system could not track and coordinate delivery of ice and water to Florida, resulting in millions of dollars worth of ice left unused at response centers, and $1.6 million in leftover water returned to storage.
_An estimated 200,000 victims had to wait for temporary housing aid from disaster assistance employees because of backlogged computers.
_Emergency personnel were potentially put at risk because the system did not provide real-time disaster warnings and other information.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE STEPHEN BUYER (R-IN): Because my next question is, if you had open staffs with regard to procurement, my next question is then: Did FEMA have in place contracts for disaster-related supplies such as tarps, ice, generators, temporary shelters, so that these items would be available without having to scramble for them and award them on contracts on the fly based on who you have on the ground at that moment?Now, mind you, “yes” means they had contracts in place for some of the things that were needed, but not all, and “no” means that even the contracts they had in place were insufficient. If the same thing had already happened in Florida, the lesson should have been learned at that point to have secondary procurement contracts in place and ready to be activated in case of shortages. It’s called having a back-up plan, and I need to have that kind of forethought at my job to be considered competent, and people’s lives don’t even depend on it.
BROWN: Yes and no. We have some of those contracts in place for provision of the meals ready to eat, of the water, of the ice. We do for some of the temporary housing, some of the trailers. But because of the scope of this disaster, we had to go out and start -- kind of like we did in Florida, too. We had to go out and literally start buying off the street to meet the demand.
Skeevy McShiteatinggrin Roy Blunt of Missouri has been chosen to replace Dickhead DeLay as “temporary” House Majority Leader. Today, Blunt, who has participated in past golf tournaments with DeLay to raise money for the DeLay Foundation for Kids, was quoted as saying, "It's not easy to fill the gap left by our leader, Tom DeLay, who's done a tremendous job, but all of our team is going to come together like we haven't ever come together before.” CREW recently named good ol’ boy Roy as one of the thirteen most corrupt members of Congress. Way to go, GOP. Stellar choice, as always.
[UPDATE: Waveflux has more on the fast friendship between Blunt and DeLay. Btw, am I the only one who's noticed the coincidence that "blunt and delay" also seems to be the Bush administration's primary political strategy? Blunt us with a constant barrage of insanity and incompetence and then delay any investigations or accountability. Odd that.]
Great post from Patrick at Yelladog:
I think I am going to go buy a lottery ticket tonightIt’s not over yet, of course, and I never let my guard down with these lunatics, but I have high hopes for the remainder of the day, too. Tomorrow we can go back to dealing with the usual nonsense.
Let's review this remarkable day, shall we?
1. Tom Delay indicted. (Follow that link to the best caption ever.)
2. Frist is facing a serious SEC audit of his personal finances.
3. Bill Bennett: "[Y]ou could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down" Hello, new face of republicanism!
4. Rumors are flying about an October Rove indictment.
5. Someone finally snapped a picture of a giant squid. (sweet.)
And none of my homies died today. Today was a good day.
In case you hadn’t heard, Jeff “Mouthpiece of the Administration” Gannon was spotted at the 400-strong pro-war rally. He seems to pop up in the oddest places, eh?
Anyway, Pam’s having a Make Your Own Jeffy Lube Pro-War Rally Poster party, so hop on over and see what the Blenders have already submitted—and submit your own, if you get the creative urge. Here’s my contribution:
…back to April:
White House aides underscored Bush's backing for DeLay -- who has denied wrongdoing -- as he joined the president at a Social Security event in their home state of Texas. Bush and DeLay flew back to Washington together aboard Air Force One.Memmm-orieeeees…of the times we left behiiiiiiiiiiind. Misty, watercolor memmm-orieeeees…of the way we were….
Bush made no mention of the ethics controversy but he praised DeLay's efforts on important legislation. "I appreciate the leadership of Congressman Tom DeLay in working on important issues that matter to the country," he said. White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters Bush supports DeLay "as strongly as he ever has, which is strongly."
DeLay indicted!
Come on, Shakers—you know the words! I’ve been singing it since last year…
Oh, how I look forward to the beautiful day,
That marks the end of his powerful sway,
When he’s found guilty as charged and taken away,
And the House can commence without further DeLay…
Second verse, same as the first!!!
Oh, how I look forward to the beautiful day,
That marks the end of his powerful sway,
When he’s found guilty as charged and taken away,
And the House can commence without further DeLay…
One more time!!!
Oh, how I look forward to the beautiful day,
That marks the end of his powerful sway,
When he’s found guilty as charged and taken away,
And the House can commence without further DeLay…
Mwah ha ha ha! You crooked asshole! You’re going down!
