How about taking away THEIR rights???

I am not 100% if this is legitimate and/or if it’s even a good idea (I’m not usually one for taking rights away from citizens, being that I'm usually on the receiving end of such propositions), but if the Right is so intent on really, truly honoring & saving marriage, why not outlaw divorce?

What do you think???

Better yet, I wonder what those people so in love with hetero marriage think???

Speak now, or forever hold your peace, as they say!

Why Can't the State of Florida Be More Like Key West???

Just found out that Monroe County (a.k.a. Key West) was the one & only of Florida’s 67 counties where the majority of voters did NOT approve Amendment 2. Only 7 other counties in Florida gave the Amendment more than 50% of the vote but less than the required 60% to pass (Alachua, Broward, Hillsborough, Leon, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Pinellas)

Of course, if you know anything at all about Key West, that just would not surprise you! Still, nearly half (48%)of the residents of the open-minded, fun-loving, welcoming Conch Republic crossed over to the dark side Tuesday.

Obama & McCain By The Numbers

Of the 28 states, plus the District of Columbia, whose electoral votes Barack Obama has garnered from last Tuesday’s election, 27 were won with a higher percentage of the popular vote than John Kerry earned in 2004. The sole exception was in John Kerry’s home state of Massachusetts, where Obama earned an identical 62% of the votes as Kerry did last time around. That’s right, Obama from Illinois got the same proportion of total votes cast in the Bay State this year as did that state’s current junior U.S. Senator in 2004. Interestingly but not really suprisingly, the largest increase in vote percentage in a Kerry-blue state from 2004 to an Obama-blue state in 2008 was in the state where Obama was born, Hawaii, where he received 72% of the vote, which was 18 points higher than Kerry’s 54%.

Of the 22 states won by John McCain in 2008, however, 16 were by smaller percentages than George Bush won in 2004. One of the biggest surprises was that Bush earned a slightly higher percentage of overall votes than did McCain in McCain’s own home state of Arizona: 55% for Bush vs. 54% for McCain. Contrast that with Obama’s win of 62% of the votes in the Land of Lincoln (Kerry had carried Illinois with 55% of the vote in 2004). Of the remaining 6 states, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia were won with the same percentage as Bush earned in 2004. Only in Alaska (from whence comes McCain’s political soul mate), Louisiana & Arkansas with 1%, 2% & 5% respectively, did McCain fare better than Bush before him. I guess having Sarah The Mooseslayer on the GOP ticket actually did help McCain after all...in the deepest of deep-red states, Alaska, and it was only enough to get him a measly one percentage point more than Bush got last time around.

Also interesting (to me anyway) is how the so-called “Swing States” actually swung on Tueday. Of the 5 states listed as such by the New York Times (Florida, Indiana, North Carolina Ohio & Missouri), all but one of them went to Obama this year. It bears reminding that all 5 of these states went for Bush in 2004, so the fact that they were even in doubt even towards the end of the campaign was just not good news for the political pachyderms.

Of these Fab 5, it seems that only Missouri went for McCain this year, and that was by less than half the vote (McCain won 49%, only a fraction of a percentage more than Obama). The other 4 had the political red bled out of them : Florida (won by Obama with 51%), Indiana (which Obama won by besting Kerry’s percentage by 11 points, up to 50%), North Carolina (where Obama added 6 percentage points to Kerry’s 44%, ending up with 50% of the vote), and fence-sitting Ohio (with a 51% win). Now, it is for sure that the win percentages in these states are not (at least on their face) earth-shattering. Even if you put aside the glaring fact that Barack Obama is the first African-American to be elected to the nation's highest office, if you consider that the home state of racist & homophobe extraordinaire Jesse Helms, North Carolina, last cast its electoral votes for a Democrat 32 years ago when the Tarheels voted for Jimmy Carter, and that crimson Indiana (like Virginia, which Obama also surprisingly won) hadn’t voted (D) since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, it really puts into perspective just how truly historical Obama's win is.

Of course, Obama's election, in and of itself, & hopeful as is seems, doesn't mean fear & prejudice in our country are dead, and, unfortunately, it doesn't mean that racism as we know it has breathed its last; such plagues of humankind--just like poverty & sickness--will undoubtedly always be with us, in one form or another. I am hopeful that--at least where electing a leader is concerned--our country has brought Dr. King's all-too-elusive dream of judging a human being not by the color of his or her skin, but by the content of his or her character one step closer to reality.

One last thing, I was reading Information Please’s website, and I noticed that (no surprise) Barack Obama has received the most votes ever for a U.S. Presidential candidate (65+ million), but I didn’t know that at least the preliminary figures show that, while the junior Senator from Illinois set a record for the sheer number of votes received by a presidential candidate (over 3 million more votes than Bush in 2004), McCain’s vote total (about 57.1 million) is actually less than the previous 2nd place finisher, John Kerry, who “only” racked up a little over 59 million votes.

I also found some interesting info on those who did vote Tuesday. National exit polls show that President-Elect Obama's Hope & Change message apparently resounded with a good part of the electorate.

As regards demographics, in just about every category measured by exit polls since 1980, Obama seems to have outperformed the average Democratic Party candidate in every category (and even outperformed the average Republican Party candidate in most categories; notable exceptions: the numbers for the average Republican candidate were higher for Males, Whites, Voters aged 45 and older, Protestants, Suburban & Rural voters...none of those numbers are really surprising, though).

The numbers are really interesting, but I am personally most impressed by the Obama advantage in voters under the age of 30, and first-time voters. Those numbers are very telling, because the political party for whom the first-time voter casts his or her sacred vote tends to be the party with which they identify for most of their lives. As if the obvious political & even physical differences between Obama & McCain (not to mention their respective life stories) weren't enough, at the same time that Obama was establishing all-time highs in these categories for any presidential candidate, McCain was--as he has been all along in this campaign--Obama's polar opposite, garnering the lowest scores in these particular categories (even lower than Poppa Bush in his landslide loss to Bill Clinton in 1992) for any major political candidate since they've been keeping record.

Male voters
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 41%
Obama: 49%
Obama +8%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 52%
McCain: 48%
McCain -4%

Female voters
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 49%
Obama: 56%
Obama +7%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 46%
McCain: 43%
McCain -3%

White voters
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 39%
Obama: 43%
Obama +4%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 54%
McCain: 55%
McCain +1%

Black voters
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 87%
Obama: 95%
Obama +8%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 10%
McCain: 3%
McCain -7%

Non-white Hispanic voters
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 63%
Obama: 67%
Obama +4%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 32%
McCain: 31%
McCain -1%

Voters aged 18-29
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 47%
Obama: 66%
Obama +19%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 45%
McCain: 32%
McCain -13%

Voters aged 30-44
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 44%
Obama: 52%
Obama +8%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 50%
McCain: 46%
McCain -4%

Voters aged 45-59
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 44%
Obama: 49%
Obama +5%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 50%
McCain: 49%
McCain -1%

Voters aged 60+
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 46%
Obama: 47%
Obama +1%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 50%
McCain: 51%
McCain +1%

Voters who are High School Graduates
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 48%
Obama: 52%
Obama +4%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 40%
McCain: 35%
McCain -5%

Voters with College or higher education
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 44%
Obama: 53%
Obama +9%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 49%
McCain: 45%
McCain -4%

First-Time Voters (info available starting in 1984)
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 48%
Obama: 69%
Obama +21%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 45%
McCain: 30%
McCain -15%

Protestant Voters
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 37%
Obama: 45%
Obama +8%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 57%
McCain: 54%
McCain -3%

Catholic Voters
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 47%
Obama: 54%
Obama +7%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 47%
McCain: 45%
McCain -2%

Jewish Voters
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 70%
Obama: 78%
Obama +8%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 25%
McCain: 21%
McCain -4%

Voters in Big Cities
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 64%
Obama: 70%
Obama +6%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 31%
McCain: 28%
McCain -3%

Voters in Suburbs (info available beginning 1988)
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 42%
Obama: 50%
Obama +8%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 51%
McCain: 48%
McCain -3%

Voters in Rural Areas
Ave. Democratic Candidate: 39%
Obama: 45%
Obama +6%

Ave. Republican Candidate: 53%
McCain: 53%
McCain 0%

Add all the foregoing presidential particulars to the fact that as the remaining few as-of-yet un-called U.S. Senate races come to their electoral end, the Democrats are edging closer & closer to the not-necessarily-magical-but-just-plain-old-politically-satisfying 60 votes to the news of Nancy Pelosi being awarded at least a dozen and a half new House Democrats, and you couldn’t blame the ruddy-red Republicans for feeling just a tad blue.

(As an FYI, other sources for the political numbers listed above are CNN and The New York Times.)

P.S. Just finished reading this article showing the further historical-ness (is that a real word???) of the election of 2008, to wit:

Obama's Democratic Party also gained seats in Congress for the second successive legislative election -- the first time since the Great Depression in the early 20th century that they have achieved that...

The article also provides the elephant party with a little of what I consider good advice as they do some long overdue political soul-searching, especially if they want to remain relevant at all in the new Post-Bush/Post-Neocon world:

US voters want the Republican Party, which took a beating in this week's general elections, to embrace progressiveness and work with Democratic president-elect Barack Obama to get America back on track, a poll showed Friday. ...71 percent said Republicans "should give Obama the benefit of the doubt and help him achieve his plans," against 24 percent who said it should oppose the progressive changes proposed by Obama...

Just in case you forgot... ;-)

"You Take The Good, You Take The Bad..."

You take the good,
You take the bad,
You take 'em both,
And there you have,
The Facts of Life,
The Facts of Life...

For those of you golden oldies (like me), I am sure you remember the theme song of The Facts of Life. No doubt, you recall Mrs. Garrett, Tootie, Blair, Natalie & Jo.

Well, yesterday was my own Facts of Life election.

No, not because it was funny or wacky or reminiscent of my early days at Eastland School.

It was my Facts of Life election because, while the electoral news I got yesterday was overwhelmingly "good", I also had to take my share of the "bad," too.

Whether you voted for or supported Barack Obama or not, you have to acknowledge the historical significance of the first African-American to be elected as President of the United States. Considering our country's shameful record where African Americans are concerned, this is a huge, huge, huge deal. Barack Obama's election will not fix all that is broken where race relations in this country is concerned, but it is a very welcome sign that we can and should do better in that arena. Barack Obama obviously inspires many millions of people & gave us more than a reason to vote for him, but to Hope again. Yes He Did.

I am Democrat. I am pretty sure that anyone who knows me well at all knows that. No surprise. Also, it can't be a big surprise that I am simply over-joyed at the fact that President-elect Obama (GOD, I LOVE WRITING AND SAYING THOSE WORDS!!) will be taking a lot more Democrats with him to Washington. I pray they will work hard to keep the pretty promises they made us, and that they have learned a grand lesson from the Grand Old Party in how to NOT run a country. I hope that their integrity & the sacred trust we have placed on their shoulders means as much to them as it does to those of us who are looking to them to lead us out of the Economic Valley of the Shadow of Death. I hope they really, truly understand--in the deepest, truest part of their being--that business as usual has long passed its expiration date, and that political & ethical shenanigans will not be tolerated by the voters whether you have an (R) or a (D) after your name. I hope my party (of whom I have been ashamed from time to time through the years) knows that--unlike the Republicans who used to be good at being elected but horrible at running a government--the American people desperately want & instinctively need leaders who love their country too much to just say anything to get elected & then leave a trail of broken promises after the limelight has dimmed. I hope my party knows that the American people are ready to get down to business & to work to fix all the things that so badly need fixing. I hope they understand the trust they have earned in the votes cast for them are sacred beyond words, and should be treated as such. I hope they know that We, The People will follow where leaders with true hearts & a clear vision beckon us to go, as we prepare to face the myriad challenges of the post-Bush era.

Last night was a long night for me. I cheered & I cried & I began to feel that good old American pride again. It was almost more than I could have hoped for...almost.

As I took stock last night of all the blessings that liberty brought me & my fellow citizens on this quadrennial first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and as I realized the true heights to which an American, of even the lowest of station can soar with but a sacred vote, I was soon brought back to earth by cruel reality, a.k.a those "bad" facts of life.

Though I had somehow dared to hope for better, apparently I thought more of my fellow citizens than they think of me.

Here in Florida, even with the bar being set relatively high when it comes to adding an amendment to our state's constitution (60% of the vote + 1 is needed), 62% of Sunshine State voters insisted on raining on my parade. Apparently, I present such a threat to the precious sanctity of their marriages that 4 separate statutes in Florida law weren't enough to protect them. I, obviously of lesser humanity, seeking to destroy what heterosexuals claim to have honored since time immemorial, deserved extra-special punishment; I deserve my second-class citizenship enshrined in this state's most sacred legal document. No doubt they know they have done their God's work by pressing their figurative boots deeper into my figurative throat; doing all within their power to squeeze the very breath out of the hope I had so naively placed in the supposed better angels of their nature.

I am smote, and all is well in the world again. Or is it? What further castigation awaits me in the recesses of their minds & in the darkness of their proud & haughty hearts, should I yet again displease God's chosen? What remains in their Religious bag of tricks for those like me who dare to flagrantly follow our hearts? What more can be taken from me? What else of my life is at their mercy? My life itself??

And, my dear Golden State of California. I lived part of my life there when I was a child, and I grew to love that place. It was truly Golden for me. I didn't leave my heart in San Francisco, but I did leave it in Baldwin Park, California a very long time ago. I know that the heart I left there must be sad & broken & feeling as if it was only ever fool's gold.

I will not pretend to know what it must be like to have your heart's desire & to finally have your government honor your family, only to see your neighbors & fellow citizens cruelly throw it all away, as if it were nothing but garbage, and to do it with such sheer, perverse, ugly joy:

Look long & hard at this picture. These are the champions, my friends. How full their own hearts must be right now knowing they have stopped same-gender couples from making families. They have no idea the perversity of their victory, nor any inkling that they cannot possibly stop two hearts from doing what hearts do, even after life is taken from them & they permanently stop beating. How, in their lust for the knowledge of waging spiritual war without end, can they not fully grasp the simple idea that Love Conquers All?

Can they be so self-centered & so bloodthirsty that they cannot grasp this most obvious Fact of Life?

So, I have said my piece & I have made it known how I hurt & how I resent being seen as less than those who believe they are more-than-deserving of the right to banish me from their Kingdom of Make-Believe Morality.

I choose to not dwell on all this because my life means more to me than constantly seething over the evil that men (and women) seek to do to people like me in the name of the Lord. My life is filled with people who love me & whom I love so very much in return. I have had many, many years to come to terms with the fact that part of my reality, by obvious necessity, is that I live in a world with people who unnecessarily fear me & hate me without knowing anything at all about me, except that I am not completely like them, but--in spite of it all--I know I am blessed, and, now, with a new President ready to shake things up that have long needed shaking, I am hopeful that we are all due for a little more of "the good."

"We're here to take away your rights..."

I am not a Mormon-hater, and I realize that there is good & bad in all religions, but the Latter-Day Saints have put up some BIG, BIG money in California to take rights away from people who are guilty only of simply following their hearts & loving another human being of the same gender so much, they want to create a government-sanctioned pact with one another promising to take care of & love each other. No matter the scare tactics the Yes-On-8 (or the Yes-On-2 supporters here in Florida) employ, here's their ugly bottom line:

Plain & simple: These people are committing their millions & their energy to stopping love.

You'd think they'd have something better to do as they seek God's heart.

Watch the video. It's truly disturbing...

How About a tall, freshly-brewed Brazil Ipanema Bourbon™ Coffee with your Obama vote???

Go by Starbucks this Tuesday, tell them you voted (hopefully for Obama), and you get free coffee!*

Sounds like a deal to me!

Besides my own small print, you may want to visit the Starbucks website for any of their small print where this offer is concerned.

*To be fair, it doesn't matter who you voted for, Starbucks will still give you a free coffee.