What Just Happened This July 26 2016

Why is this night different from all other nights?

Because this night, a black man is playing professional ba... wait, we've done this bit.

Because this night, I caught a Squirtle on Pokemon GO. Okay, okay, settle down peeps.

Because this night, Hillary Clinton was officially nominated for the Presidency of the United States by a major political party. There have been women nominated by third parties before, and often. But let's be honest: you have to be a Democrat or a Republican candidate to have a solid shot at the Oval Office.

If things hold, if the voter turnout is like 2012 only better, we can look forward to an historic night in November much like that night in 2008.

That means - HINT FREAKING HINT - you people need to stop polling for Trump and dump his sorry corrupt Russian-owned ass into the dustbin of history.

Sigh.

Anyway, I need more Squirtles to evolve one up. Where's a good spot to catch more?

It's Just a Formality At This Point Now, So Let's Show Our Contestant Some Lovely Parting Gifts

Tonight is the second-to-last (good God, who's last?) round of Primaries for the major parties, and while the Republican campaign was already called about five six weeks ago the Democratic campaign has pretty much gone to the wire.

But tonight is a big one: Two large population states including AT LAST CALIFORNIA (also New Jersey) from which Hillary Clinton can secure enough "hard pledge" delegates among the "soft" delegates to pretty much clinch the nomination.

Although the AP Newswire claimed last night that enough Superdelegates came out in favor of Hillary to cross the threshold, it matters more that the threshold be claimed tonight by the ballot counts, so yeah, New Jersey is going to be the wafer thin mint that tips the scales. Hillary's got 62 percent of the vote with 88 percent of the precincts reporting: at this rate she's got Joisey in the bag, man.

And with that, Hillary's got 2469 soft delegates (with a 1825 hard count, 400 ahead of Bernie) where the cutoff to win is 2383. She's there.

Hillary won the delegates, Hillary will earn the party's nomination in Philadelphia next month. It's done. Anybody arguing for shifting the Superdelegates around, or talking the normal delegates into bolting from any pledge to vote Hillary on the first ballot, is just in painful denial right now.

Still and all: it'd be nice to see if Hillary can dominate this night with winning the rest of the roster. Getting a majority of states looks good heading into the convention as well as the delegate count.

Hillary's leading Bernie in South Dakota at the moment: it's too close to officially call, but barring a massive outburst for Sanders in the bigger precincts it's gotta be going for Clinton.

Lets see about New Mexico: Hmm, Hillary's up 53 to 47 percent over Bernie, it's still too early to call but it's getting there.

North Dakota: Bernie's winning that with a wide margin of 62 percent to Hillary's 26 percent... which is odd except for this being another crazy Caucus where the rules are whack. 10 percent haven't committed, which means the final results might not be known until 2018. And what the hell, Dakota: 253 people TOTAL for Bernie, with 101 for Hillary? We're talking hundreds, not thousands, and I'm pretty sure you Dakota states have more people than that. Where the hell are they? Seriously folks, Caucuses have to go.

It's too early to call Montana even with Hillary in a decent-sized lead there, but then again it's Montana, I never been there so who cares? :) UPDATE 6/8: Bernie wins Montana. Congratulations. I'm sure it can fit somewhere on the trophy case...

All that's left is California, and there's no results in yet for that (West Coast votes are SOOOOOO late in the evening). UPDATE 6/8: Morning has revealed that Hillary dominated Cali 56 to 43 percent over Bernie. That is a double-digit win in the largest state of the nation.

What does all this mean?

It means Bernie needs to bow out gracefully and let Hillary (and Obama, who's itching to get out campaigning for his successor) run the national campaign to the general election now.

No more back-biting... no more questionable accusations about "stolen" elections... no more dissing southern states for "not counting"... no more sore loser stuff.

Let it go, Senator Sanders.

Work on this: You've got access towards setting the Democratic Party's platform, which you can use to set key agenda points on economic policy and Congressional reforms. No, you'll probably not get your universal healthcare idea approved, but there's a lot of other things Hillary and the Centrist factions of the party will back.

This doesn't have to be a divided Party, Senator.

I understand - I sympathize a little - that your Progressive idealism makes it hard for you and your followers to support a "moderate" Center-Left candidate like Hillary. That you don't trust her enough to even placate you on issues. I understand you hate her for being too cozy with Wall Street and the Banks, and granted that is a troubling relationship considering how much more work our nation needs to prevent those same banks and investors from causing another crippling economic collapse.

But here's the deal:

TRUMP IS A GODDAMN MANIAC ONE STEP AWAY FROM DESTROYING ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING.

I am not exaggerating.

The Democrats as a whole need to unite as one party now... The Democrats need to appeal to the Independent voters with coherent policy points and common sense and confidence... The nation, the entire world needs the Democrats to present a solid, worthwhile choice for a majority of voters to ensure the likes of Trump does not win in November (or EVER again).

You can disagree with Hillary. You can argue for the need to keep her honest especially if she wins the White House, you can push for enough Left-leaning Liberals and Progressive allies into key Cabinet positions to make sure Hillary stays honest enough to your measures.

But you gotta let go of that hate, BernieBros. You gotta recognize that we've got a lot of elections to win, not just the Presidency but the US Senate and the US House and a ton of state-level elections as well. The whole ticket needs your vote, needs your support, needs you period.

Let go of that hate, and look to hope. Hope that you can get enough Moderate and Independent voters to side with you against Trump and his tainted, dying Republican Party.

Hope that this nation can unite behind the first serious woman candidate from a major political party to officially run for President. Under this banner, the Democrats can rally to wins in the Senate and break that logjam... and if the Republicans implode as predicted there's a good chance of turning the power of the US House back to Democrats too.

This is a major election. All hands on deck, get the vote out, and do what we can to Stop Trump and Save America.

That means voting for Democrats all across the board. That means voting for Hillary.

Update: so of course Bernie is saying he's gonna fight this all the way to Philly. /headdesk

The March Of History Now Dancing To the Tune of "We Are Family"

Obergefell v Hodges: basically the court case about whether or not gays have the same right to marry as heterosexuals.  There was a previous Supreme Court ruling in 2013, but that essentially said civil unions were possible but did not go further into marriage legal rights.  That was akin to a prelude: this case went straight to the heart of the matter.  On this, let's refer to SCOTUSblog's summary in Plain English by Amy Howe:

The Supreme Court, Kennedy’s opinion explains, has long recognized the right to marry as a fundamental right.  And although until today it has always done so in the context of opposite-sex couples, he continues, all of the same principles on which the Court has relied in cases involving opposite-sex couples apply equally to same-sex marriage and the recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages.  For example, being able to decide whether to get married is an important part of an individual’s autonomy regardless whether you are the same sex as your intended spouse.  Along much the same lines, marriage is a unique way for two individuals – in both same- and opposite-sex partnerships – to demonstrate their commitment to one another.

Justice Kennedy writing for the majority uses the 14th Amendment, arguably the most key civil rights amendment outside of the Bill of Rights, to argue that marriage as a fundamental right needed to apply to all:

These considerations lead to the conclusion that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty. The Court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry. No longer may this liberty be denied to them. Baker v. Nelson must be and now is overruled, and the State laws challenged by Petitioners in these cases are now held invalid to the extent they exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage on the same terms and conditions as opposite sex couples.

This is just one more step forward in this moral universe, in that long arc that bends towards justice.

To quote Kennedy's key point:

No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered.

To be fair, this ruling will affect just a significant minority of Americans.  Statistically there's about 3 percent of the population that is gay/lesbian: in a population of 313 million or so Americans that's roughly 9 million.  But by extension of families, of friends and colleagues, this affects so many of us.

This is a moment where a right that should be viewed as universal finally is: much like the right to be free as a person regardless of ethnicity, much like the right to vote for women as well as men, much like the right to be protected before the law, there is a right to marriage that covers so many aspects of our world - of property, of community, of relationships between ourselves, of the simple identity of humanity - that ought to be protected and confirmed by our Constitution.  This ruling makes it so.

This is not the end of the fight.  The Haters who rail against gays will continue to do so.  But now they have one less weapon in their arsenal.  The Constitution - the law of the land - is no longer on their side.  All they have is their stringent religious dogma, stuck forever in Rage mode quoting Leviticus or Romans as though they were the only passages that matter.

Never mind they cherry-pick such quotes, ignoring all other bans of Leviticus and the Bible.  Never mind their cries about gay marriage harming families conveniently overlooking the Biblical warnings against Adultery, which more Americans commit than there are gays in our nation (our Far Right leadership and fear-mongers in the media refuse to punish adulterers like Gingrich or Trump or half their male membership, shame on them).  Never mind the passages in the Bible that speak to Grace, Acceptance, Good Will.  The Haters gonna hate.  That battle will not end today.

But today is a day to feel good.  To feel good about being an American.  To feel good about being Pro-People.  To feel good about being on the right side of history on the right arc bending towards justice.  Like this guy Rich Juwziak at Gawker says, this ruling feels so good:

...All of that fills my heart beyond what I understood to be its capacity. It’s why my mother called me crying happy tears this morning. It’s a beautiful thing to have experienced in my lifetime. I’m so thankful for today.

I can’t help but be happiest, though, about the defeat of the anti-marriage equality crusaders. The defeat of people who signed up to lose, who wasted their time and ours on a platform of animus and contempt. The defeat of people who put principle over the practical, who fought to preserve their limited understanding of an already imperfect institution over the actual human lives that would benefit from it. The defeat of people who did what bigots do: discriminate, vilify, fear-monger, argue irrationally and without respect to human dignity, and then bristle when they’re called out for what they are (bigots).

The jig is up. The world has turned and left you fuming, seething, weeping...

Really should not dance or strut before the Haters.  That's not what Christian Grace should be about.

Better to dance and strut with the Lovers.  With the People who love for the sake of grace and humanity and happiness.  The Four Loves that the Greeks defined for us, love like Agape (for the love of others, for the love of God), Storge (love of family, between parents and children and siblings), Philia (for the love of friends, for companions), and yes Eros (for the love of passion between two people).

So, DJ Agape, give us a beat:

The Only Good News In a Bleak Winter

At least Congress was able to get this mess cleaned up before the Republicans got back in charge of things:

This morning, a bipartisan group of 57 Democrats and six Republicans broke a GOP filibuster, allowing the Senate to vote up or down on a standalone bill to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." This afternoon, the Senate finished the deal -- the legislation passed 65 to 31.
The legislation is identical to the one that passed the House a few days ago, so its next stop is the White House, where President Obama will gladly sign it into law, officially removing DADT from the books and relegating the discriminatory policy to the trash heap of history.

For those who don't know, Don't Ask Don't Tell was a compromise plan put into play back in the 1990s to allow gays and lesbians to serve in the military.  As long as the gays and lesbians didn't publicly state their orientation, nobody was (supposed to) ask what that orientation was.

Problem was, the opponents to having gays in the military (social conservatives reading a very narrow and inflexible interpretation of the Bible) quickly figured out loopholes to that: for example, having a third party report someone suspected of gay/lesbian leanings.  And then using either the soldier's silence on the matter to remove them for insubordinate behavior, or force the soldier to admit their orientation and get drummed out for Telling.  What was meant to protect gays had instead been used to push even more of them out of service than before.

It took time - younger and more tolerant generations getting into the military, growing public awareness that a majority of straight soldiers had no problem serving with gays, the problem of pushing out highly qualified officers at a time of war and manpower shortages - but today, after years of conservative obstruction and flat-out fear-mongering (that homosexuality in the armed forces would lead to body art, adultery, bestiality, and waaaaaay too much make-up girlfriend), the Senate voted on the repeal of DADT.  Basically, gays and lesbians should be able to serve in the military same as straight people.

The Religious Right are going to have a conniption over this.  "Oh noes" they will scream "God will PUNISH us for not adhering to Leviticus!  Our military's gonna be filled with flamers and anal rapists and cow lovers!  Our nation is DOOMED (unless you buy my book about it, for only 29.99 directly from my website!)"

Problem for those "righteous" screamers is this: the ones yelling about it the most are the most hypocritical of all with their own sins (draft dodging, adultery, war-mongering).  So screw them.

The average soldier is not gonna have a problem serving with gays.  If there's a hassle, you take it to the MPs.  The military can maintain discipline in the face of ANYTHING, dammit (The US Armed Forces are quite possibly the most organized, prepared and adaptive military force since the Romans or the Mongols), and we ought to be able to trust all of them on that.

I have no problems with gays in the military.  If an American wants to serve in the armed forces, as long as they are fit and capable, as long as they accept the challenges before them, I don't care of their ethnicity, their religion, their gender, their statehood, their sexual orientation, their foot size, their hat size, their favorite color.  I never served, but that's me, and I'm not about to begrudge those who did with honor, and love of home and family.

This is a good day to be an American.  One more bigotry defeated.  One more right confirmed for those who want to serve this nation.

Tomorrow is gonna feel like a sunny day.

January 20, 2009

"...Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions..."

- Barack Obama, as of 12:01 pm Eastern Jan. 20, 2009 our 44th President of the United States of America.

Why is this night different than all other nights?

I noted this back in June.

Why is this night different than all other nights? Because on this night, after 260 plus years of slavery, 100 years of segregation, 40 years of battling over civil rights, a black man is President of the United States.

Let us be realistic. This is not going to end racism, or even improve race relations. That work is ongoing, and will last long into our future generations. But this settles a long-fought argument: it means everyone born in this nation has a chance to lead.

So. What happens next?

Next, I go to sleep. I'll write more stuff tomorrow. Especially about the future of the Republican Party. I need to say a few things on that.

What just happened the night of June 3rd 2008

I'm reminded of a moment I saw in 1994's Ken Burns PBS series Baseball, when they focused on the arrival of Jackie Robinson. I looked about online for a quote, and came up with a Google Books entry from the book Jackie Robinson: Race, Sports and the American Dream written/edited by Joseph Dorinson. It's in Chapter 9, Mah Nishtanah, by Henry Foner, who remembered watching Robinson come to Ebbets Field to play an exhibition game near about Passover in 1947. That Passover, as the youngest son in the family, it was left to Henry to invoke the four questions (fir kashes) that are asked of the holiday. He asked the first one, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" But before his father could answer, Henry provided his own answer, "Because today, a black man is playing major league baseball."

After 260 plus years, starting in 1619 with a Dutch ship reaching Jamestown with 19 indentured Africans and ending in 1865 with the fall of the Confederacy and an end to slavery, and after 100 years of Jim Crow, segregation, and lynch mobs, and after 40 plus years of fighting over affirmative action and entrenched racism we still find today in pockets of our nation, today is different from all other days. Because today, a black man is an official candidate for the office of President of the United States and unofficial Leader of the Free World.

Depending on how the election turns out, the night of November 4 2008 promises to be an even bigger moment than today.