Oct 13
AndrewMusic, Politics and Nation Voting
The Beastie Boys have set up a handful of dates ahead of the presidential election to raise awareness for the importance of voting in swing vote states. A number of high profile performers have signed on to play the shows including Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Norah Jones and Tenacious D. Right now, three dates are scheduled, and the press release promises a few more to be confirmed.
The shows will also be attended by Rock the Vote to provide local information regarding polling places and early voting at each stop. Of course, voter registration deadlines have passed or are this week in some states, so hopefully attendees are already registered when they show up.
Tour dates
October 28 Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum
November 1 St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
November 2 Milwaukee, WI US Cellular Arena
Tour information is up to date at time of publication
Oct 10
JeremyPolitics and Nation, Relationships, Society and Culture gay marriage, Kerrigan v. the state Commissioner of Public Health
Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled today to legalize same-sex marriage in that state, joining neighboring Massachusetts and distant California. The state has an existing civil unions law, but eight couples sued on the basis that the law was inherently discriminatory and set up inequality for a minority group. Four of Connecticut’s seven supreme court justices agreed with that argument, stating that the state of Connecticut “failed to establish adequate reason to justify the statutory ban on same sex marriage.”
To give Connecticut its due, it was the first state to enact civil unions on its own, without a court-order, but stopped shy of recognizing full marriage rights. So far, all three states that have legalized gay marriage have done so through the court system and not through legislation. In Massachusetts counter-legislation has failed abysmally on a number of occasions, affirming legislators’ tacit support.
A full copy of the decision is available here (Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health).
Sep 01
JeremyPolitics and Nation Election 2008, hillary clinton, Politics and Nation, running mate, sarah palin, vice president
A few years ago, I had the unfortunate experience of accidentally viewing the trailer for a Tara Reid movie. I couldn’t tell you what the movie is and I don’t have the ambition to go find it on IMDb (UPDATE: I went and found it and here’s a link to her look in the film). Our girl Tara was portraying a scientist of some kind in a horror movie, an anthropologist or paleontologist or something like that. To accomplish this remarkable transformation from party girl to intellectual sophisticate, the movie’s creative team used the opposite of the time-honored tactic that we have seen in so many teen dramas: they put her hair up in a knot and had her don dowdy glasses. It was hard enough for us to buy that she was a smart-and-sexy college reporter in Van Wilder, but this movie passed Tara into the ludicrous. A few days ago, I experienced an unfortunate sense of déjà vu when I saw my very first photo ever of Sarah Palin on boston.com. All I could think when I saw her was that someone had accidentally switched up a promotional photo of Tara with that of Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s running mate, the governor of Alaska.
Now, I do not say this to disparage Governor Palin’s intelligence. For that matter, I don’t disparage Ms. Reid’s, since I don’t actually know her. I have no way of knowing whether one is more intelligent than the other. But when it comes down to image, the governor and the decade-younger actress both leave a lot to be desired. In fact, I would venture to say that I do know more about Tara Reid and who she is based on the media coverage she’s experienced in the last decade as an actress than I do about Sarah Palin’s less than a decade in politics. Despite days’ worth of media coverage, Palin remains much of a mystery. I know that she was the runner up for Miss Alaska, her teenage daughter is preggers, she hates polar bears, and likes oil. She sounds like a dirty old Republican man’s naughty dream. So far, though, I have yet to understand what role she would take on in a theoretical McCain administration and what qualifies her to take control of the Oval Office “just in case.”
The only conclusion that I’ve come to is that our suppositional Veep Palin would take on the old role of ceremonial tie-breaker, with no real participation in the heart of our nation’s government, far the opposite of the co-presidency current VP Dick Cheney enjoys. Effectively, the vice president has little more standing and authority than the first lady. Heck, 14th President Franklin Pierce’s VP William King died just a few weeks after inauguration, leaving the office unfilled for most of four years — and NO ONE MISSED HIM! While that may have been feasible in the small government of the 1850s, I don’t believe it’s desirable today. Hence, I’m not sure what a seemingly irrelevant Sarah Palin has done to truly crack the glass ceiling, rather than serve as a figurehead. She’s become the national scene’s version of former Massachusetts acting Governor Jane not-so-Swift, who bowed out of the race as soon as a suitable male candidate appeared. Geraldine Ferraro was our first token female Veep candidate back in 1984. I would have hoped that in 2008, a woman appearing on a national party’s executive ticket would be more than a symbolic figurehead. Instead, the best slogan the McCain campaign can put out now is “If you average their ages together, you get two candidates the right age to be president!”
On the other hand, Senator Hillary Clinton’s failed bid to become the Democratic party’s presidential nominee has shown us that a woman can compete with the boys on the national field and succeed just like they can. While she did fail, it is important to note that Hillary came in second among a field of men with their own impressive credentials. Not only that, but she also has established herself as a force to be reckoned with for the Obama campaign. I’m not, nor have I ever been, Hillary’s biggest fan, but the differences between the two are striking.
I can’t help but be impressed at the way Senator Clinton handled herself at the Democratic National Convention last week. Indeed, if she had shown that kind of spirit during her campaign, I may have voted differently in the primary a few months ago. Analyzing her tactics, Hillary had enough clout to get a plum spot in the speaking order and delivered a rousing speech of the kind that I was never sure she could give. In a masterfully orchestrated deal, she was able to have her cake and eat it too. Not only was she able to bargain for a role call vote, she was also the one who called for party unity in ending the vote (after receiving recognition from some delegates of states preceding New York). Such a savvy understanding of politics is rarely seen in anyone, let alone her male opponents.
Many speculated that Hillary Clinton was on the short list of vice presidential candidates for Barack Obama to choose from, even though he eventually went with Joe Biden. The main criticism of this possibility revolved around the fact that Vice President Clinton would prefer to be co-President Clinton, much like the Bush administration’s current political landscape. She clearly was not content to take a back seat role as First Lady in the 90s and even as number two in the White House, she would have been a positive political force. Chances are, though, that Hillary herself didn’t want to be Vice President. Why settle when she still has chances in the future?
Because she worked so hard and functioned so effectively as a candidate, Hillary Clinton gave a healthy kick to the glass ceiling, far more than Sarah Palin’s light tap. She showed us that women can be not just serious candidates, but serious contenders for the presidency of the United States. While she was not my candidate of choice, she gave me hope that future women will take seriously their duty to have a strong voice in American politics at every level. Despite her failure, she is the woman that history will remember as changing politics. Sarah Palin strikes me as nothing more than a misspelled footnote and fodder for a doctoral dissertation no will ever read. Anyone who thinks otherwise is surely…well…cracked.
Jul 29
JeremyPolitics and Nation, Relationships, Society and Culture gay marriage, marriage equality, massachusetts
The Massachusetts House today passed a repeal of a 1913 law that effectively prevented out-of-state gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage in 2004. This move followed a previous vote by the state Senate to repeal the law and Governor Deval Patrick has indicated that he will sign the measure. The repeal passed by a wide margin, 118 to 35, after only 45 minutes of debate.
The archaic law was rooted in turn-of-the-century attempts to keep interracial couples from marrying. It barred nuptials for any visiting couple who could not be legally wed in their home state and was passed at a time when many other states banned interracial marriage. The little known law was resurrected in 2004 by then-Governor Mitt Romney, seeking to attenuate the effects of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s Goodridge decision that allowed same-sex weddings.
With the repeal, Massachusetts is expected to experience a boom in the destination wedding industry as it hosts gay couples from all over the country. California is currently the only other state in which gay couples can marry.
Jul 24
AndrewPolitics and Nation State Government
In the fight over the state’s budget, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to pay state employees federal minimum wage if the democrats and republications don’t resolve their differences. The problem? Federal minimum wage is at $6.55, $1.45 less than California’s state minimum wage. Schwarzenegger wants to punish the lowest workers on the state food chain because the politicians can’t get their shit together?
This might fall into a only-in-California category. Or maybe it belongs in only-Schwarzenegger-could-come-up-with-this-plan. President Schwarzenegger: “I was elected to *lead*, not to *read*.”
The state is facing a reported $15 billion deficit as of July 1 (yes, apparently they do know it’s July 24.) If Schwarzenegger’s solution is put in action, the reduction in pay would be temporary, and their regular salaries would be fully restored when a budget is signed. Also as part of the executive order, the state would freeze hiring of non-essential positions and implement layoffs of temporary positions the likes of interns and contractors.
Even with the potential cost savings of Schwarzenegger’s plan (estimates put the savings as high as $500 million per month), it would take most of August to execute the order, by which point the governor is hoping that a budget will have been approved.
All kidding aside, Schwarzenegger’s solution is clearly a feint. Cutting pay wages on the lowest state earners is insidious even for Mr. Freeze. Schwarzenegger knows he needs to play nice with his constituents if he wants to win a Senate seat in 2010.
Jul 22
AndrewBusiness, Politics and Nation Mail
The U.S. Postal Service has decided to enforce a decades-old rule forbidding mail carriers from feeding the dogs. The practice of bringing along doggie treats has, for some mail carriers, been a peace offering. The carriers hope to quell enmity between postal carriers and pets that dates back to the earliest mail delivery in 1775.
The Postal Service, however, believes that postal workers need to maintain the no-contact policy as the best way to deter dog bites and other skirmishes between postal workers and man’s best friend. Mail workers are split in their support of the rule.
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