Jeez Jon

Not Much To See Here...

As you can tell by the blog lately, I've been all but consumed by politics lately.  I have been completely transfixed by the Obama vs Clinton vs McCain battle, and hopefully, my insatiable appetite for politics will abate with Clinton bowing out of the race.   Never in my life have I been so obsessed with politics.  Maybe it's due to the fact that the first time since 1992, there's a candidate I'm actually really excited about.  I can't help it; Obama inspires me.  His vision of the country is inclusive and open, positive and pragmatic.  And that tickles me.  Couple that with the marriage issue, and I feel that I really have a lot on the line with this election.

So, sorry if I've been a bit one-track minded here. There hasn't been a lot of other news going on. I'm on my last week of Frothy Basic Cable Docu-Soap, which has been a good deal of fun. Next week, I go back to Trading Spaces for the next several months. I'm very psyched about having constant work through the beginning of fall, but that's not really news-worthy.  I did have 3 commercial auditions last week, the first in almost 6 weeks. Those were a nice shot in the arm, I must say. 

But beyond that, nothing much else is going on.  It's work, politics, enjoying our veggies, hanging out with our friends, and trying not to drive too much. Seriously, the cheapest gas around us is $4.49 a gallon.  Ridiculous.

The Not-So-Moderate Moderate

While John McCain isn't as awful as Huckabee or Romney when it comes to gay issues, that doesn't mean he's good either.  I mean, check this out.

Any Hillary supporters on the fence about supporting Obama better get their stuff straight. McCain's record shows he's not a fan of us LGBT peeps, so best to get behind someone who is, and that's Obama. 

[Link courtesy of Towleroad]

Very, Very Strange Bedfellows

The California gay marriage debate has been continuing, and Bill O'Reilly of course weighed in. Who knew that he, by merely playing Devil's Advocate, showed the argument against gay marriage to be pretty ludicrous?

Uh... thanks, Bill.  Never thought I'd ever say that.
[Link Courtesy of Andrew Sullivan]

Colorado Leads The Way Again

I think in light of recent events, maybe this South Park clip sums everything up really well.

So good.

And So It Begins...

Over IM, this morning:

JON: Hey.

JON: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080515/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage

TOM: Wow.

TOM: Christ, now we'll get the nagging.

Finally, California Does Something Right

The California Supreme Court has ruled that gay marriage bans are unconstitutional, paving the way for full marriage equality here in America's most populous state.  This is huge.  Massive. Awesome. But, we're not out of the woods yet.  There's a push to change the California Constitution to ban gay marriage. Fortunately, there's a lot of people against that, including our governator:

I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling.  Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.

[Link courtesy of Andrew Sullivan]

So, for the time being, this is fantastic news. 

No One Poured Beer On Her Weave, But...

Andy Borowitz from the Huffington Post has discovered the best way to let Hillary know the race is really over for her.

Hilarious.

No On 98, Y'All

On June 3, there is a special election here in California, based on eminent domain.  Eminent domain is where the government can seize private property for the public use, like putting in a freeway, etc.  The Supreme Court recently ruled that eminent domain can be used for private industries, like putting in a Wal-Mart. There are two Propositions on the ballot, both about eminent domain: Prop 98 and Prop 99. The one of great concern is Prop 98.

Prop 98 says it limits eminent domain, but ALSO eliminates a bulk of renters' rights.  Prop 98 will eliminate rent control in California, the right of tenants to claim their security deposit in 30 days, among others.

So, to protect all of us, PLEASE vote NO on 98.  Urge everyone you know to go vote on this. The landlords who put this on the ballot called for it during June because they knew it would be a low turn out.  In order to protect our rights, we can't let them do this to us and to millions of renters here in California.

Remember: vote NO on Prop 98.  You should be getting the sample ballots in the mail soon, if you haven't received them already. 

For more info, check out http://noonprop98.org.

Heard A New Slogan Today

I was listening to Stephanie Miller on my way to work today, as I like my political coverage mixed with a heavy dose of comedy.  There have been a lot of callers complaining over the past couple days weeks, saying that if their candidate (either Obama or Clinton) doesn't get the nomination, they'll vote for McCain.  This makes my heart sink.  A lot.  I realize that it's only March (okay, almost April), but we have a long way until the vote in November, and it's way too early for people to start being pissy.  And, honestly, while McCain at least comes across as only a half-douchebag instead of the usual Republican Pedigree Douchebag candidates (*cough* Romney *cough*), he's still not a good choice.  I'm not fond of Clinton's tactics lately, but she's light years better than McCain.

Anyways, there's been all these complaints coming in.  Then one woman in her 50's called in and put it all in perspective:

Woman: "I'm sick of all these people complaining, saying they'll vote for McCain if their person doesn't get the nomination.  Well, Edwards was my candidate, and you don't hear me complaining like a little bitch."

That's my new slogan:  "Democrats: Stop Complaining Like A Little Bitch". Let's focus on winning in the fall, ok?

Bill Clinton Does a Cranky Two-Step

In a discussion with 4 college journalists for MTVU, President Bill Clinton defends his support of the Defense of Marriage Act, saying that it leads to less discrimination for gays and lesbians since it won't force other states to recognize gay marriages in other states. And he's rather testy as well.

This argument makes no sense.  Here's the "for instance": a gay couple gets married in Massachusetts.  Then one of them gets transferred for their job to Utah.  By forcing Utah to recognize that marriage, the couple then doesn't have to worry about whether or not they have hospital visitation rights or health insurance or estate problems.  The best way to help fight against discrimination is exposure, and having boring married gay couples around a bunch of straights is the easiest way for the close-minded to see we're just as dull as they are. And if a bunch of Mormons in Salt Lake City see how human we married gays are, then that will help bring down discrimination.

More on this topic later. [Link courtesy of Joe.My.God.]