Slightly North

Last week on Rick Mercer's Monday Report the rant was pretty good. I wrote to the show trying to get a transcript to post, but they never responded. So, I transcribed it myself thanks to the fact that they put video of each week's segments on the site.

So here it is:

"I've always believed that in the United States there was a big difference between conservative and stupid. Boy is it getting harder to prove that one by the minute.

On Veteran's Day in America, the movie "Saving Private Ryan" was dumped by over 60 ABC affiliates. And why? Well apparently it's against family values. And so a whole bunch of family values groups, they got together, and they decided that because they didn't want to watch this movie, then nobody should be allowed to watch this movie. So they lobbied the FCC and they threatened to boycott any channel that would dare air this film. And it worked! The movie was censored in 1/3 of the country. And why? Because these people know it is a moral to celebrate Veteran's Day by watching a war movie if, get this, it contains violence, swearing, or taking the lord's name in vain. None of which, of course, happened in World War 2. No! Because in WW2, people were too busy getting killed trying to protect America from the type of person that would defiantly tell you what you can and can not watch. According to these people, everyone would be much better off celebrating Veteran's Day by just staying at home and watching another episode of "Touched by and Angel."

Thanks to family values, when it comes to freedom and personal choice, the wheels are off the bus in America. And let's face it, it was a pretty short bus to begin with."

Funny that the Canadians get it when so many Americans don't.

The race for governor in Washington is getting petty.

The republican party here in Washington tried to pull a fast one. They wanted to have a judge put a stop to the recount practices going on in King county. They were concerned that election officials were changing ballots so the machines could better read them. In many cases, the voter circled a candidate's name, rather then filling in the bubble next to the name. Some ballots were ripped on the edge, so they were creating a new ballot with the exact same votes so the machines could read them. Early estimates were that the democrats would pick up about 600 new votes because of this recount practice and the republicans are just livid. This is due to the fact that the democrats had a very strong lead in King county, and this could change the outcome of the election. So the republicans filed a suit in king county to put a stop to it. On Sunday a judge declined to stop the recount and said the issue would be heard in court today (Monday).

However (and this is a big however), the same practices for the recount and going on in Pierce County and Spokane County. Both strong republican areas, where the recount is expected to increase the total number of votes for the republicans. But did they file a suit to stop the recounting practices in those counties? Hell no. Because they don't care about HOW the votes are counted, they care about WHICH votes are counted. If you ask me, this should be a state-wide decision. If the judge in King county actually puts a stop to the recount, it should do the same thing across the state.

I'm sure there will be more to come as the media here in Seattle get word on the court's decision this morning.

Today marks the day Erin and I have (finally) saved $10,000 in cash. Well, not in cash per say, but in a savings account that gets a whole 0.15% intrest rate. In fact, we did it a whole month early of our goal. That's 5% of a $200,000 home. Soon we can stop renting. YAY!

So many people are getting to this site by searching for "I live in a Blue State sticker" that I thought I would make one.

Click here to go the shop, or you can go right to the bumper sticker itself.

Enjoy.

... especially if you are a judge, according to Ashcroft.

When Mr. Ashcroft said two years ago that those who scare people with 'phantoms of lost liberty' are aiding the enemy, who knew he meant federal judges?

No movement for freedom has ever had a smooth path to progress, and the movement to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage is no different. Nine months ago when the mayor of San Francisco married thousands of lesbian and gay couples, we took a giant step forward. Millions of Americans learned how much gay people yearn for the security and place in society that marriage represents. Millions began to understand the commitments members of same-sex couples make to each other, and how unfair it is to treat those couples as strangers.

Last week, we took a step back. Eleven states changed the very charters that establish our society to try to keep same-sex couples out of that society forever. But discouraging as they were, these results ended nothing. Lawsuits to end the exclusion will go forward in New York, California, Washington, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, Connecticut and Indiana. Lawsuits to get equal treatment will continue in Alaska and Montana and New Jersey. And if the fight for equality in Oregon may take a little longer, it is hardly over.

Same-sex couples will marry, and become fully a part of the American landscape. The promise of equality in our Constitution demands no less. And sooner or later, that promise will be kept.

Read the complete statement by Matt Coles, Director of the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.

I need to bring the photos and various other pages of this site in line with my new layout. Maybe if I talk about it I will remember to do it.

That's a great title, with more than one meaning. I am proud I live in what became a blue state, and I did my part in making sure my county was a blue one as well. However, I had an easier time being in a major city (King County is where Seattle is), a lot of Washington state was very red. Going into the election I was sure we would have a sane president again after 4 years. I guess I am still in a bit of shock that 51% of this country are such idiots. That may not be fair to say, but I don't know how else to explain it. How does it make sense that so many people voted for the guy who has gotten almost 2000 Americans killed in Iraq, is a threat to our environment laws, wants to take away our cival rights, and has caused the majority of the rest of the world to not trust our government? It shouldn't make sense.

The republicans have made the democrats evil. Seriously. Whenever you hear a republican talking politics, they refer to a democrat as a "liberal" with venom in their voice. You rarely hear a democrat do the same. So unless you are active in politics, you get bombarded with this "liberal" threat that aims to destroy our way of life. It is hard to think that anyone would be quite so impressionable, but this is the country where people think watching an idiot like Paris Hilton each week is entertainment. We democrats need to start using the same tactics if we plan to take back this country and start earning some respect in the world. We tried to take the high road and it doesn't work. So here is what I propose:

REPUBLICANS EAT BABIES!

Now spread that around. Make it a talking point. Make flyers, stickers, tv ads, radio ads, and get the message out. They eat fucking babies, how could you vote for any of them? What is worse, some couple you don't even know living together and maybe both being the same gender, or the fact that your president eats babies? I know which one I would choose. Maybe we can convince dense hicks in all those red areas that a democrat is a better choice by employing the same bullshit the republicans use.

Anyway, I think it can all be summed up with this quote:
"If you voted for Bush, didn't vote, or voted no on gay marriage, I hope you get drafted. I hope they stick you in my unit, and you go with me to Iraq when my unit goes back in September. I will laugh when you see what soldiers in that country face on a daily basis. I hope you work with gay soldiers too. I did. One of them saved my life. Think he shouldn't have the right to get married? Fuck you. He fought just as hard as I did and on most days, did his job better than me. Don't tell me gays don't have the same rights you do. Think the war in Iraq is a good thing? I'll donate my M-16 to you and you can go in my place."

If (when) there is a draft, I say all the republican voters can go, since they wanted this war enough to vote Bush.