(no subject)

merlinofchaos just put up a post that needs to be shared:

I know I don't have any influence on people who already think this, and I doubt anybody who reads my blog who votes in California is actually undecided. So I'm not really looking to change anybody's mind. But it's possible there's 1 person I can reach who might not make it to the polls for this vote. If you're that person, go vote. Our vote for President isn't going to matter. In California, it never does. But a vote against bigotry may matter. Right now Prop 8 is behind by 5 points in the polls, and the Mormons are out there whipping up their base to get every single Christian who fears gays to go out and vote. We need to stop them.

California is supposed to be the great bastion of liberal thinking in the United States. We need to make sure that, in this state, at least, we protect our freedoms. Marriage is an institution about property and inheritance, and denying couples this right because God says so is wrong. It's too easy to hate people who are different."

Find out more information about what you can do here.

The worst part, to me is just how deceptive the pro Prop 8 people are being, and just how much they're relying on ridiculous scare tactics. If I hear one more "Won't someone please think of the children!" ad I'm going seriously consider acquiring a high-powered rifle and scouting out nearby water towers.

(no subject)

My friends are damn geniuses, kirbyk posted this which must be shared:

I like living in a country where I can have a minority religion or no religion, I like scientists being taken seriously, I like the tax burden being distributed according to people's means (and the mountains of data that say that Supply Side Economics doesn't work), I like gay people being treated like there's nothing wrong with them, I like non-white people being treated like there's nothing wrong with them, I like not spending all of our budget on wars that have dubious values for our country, I like equal pay for women, I like the government not making tough moral decisions that individuals could make on their own, I like regulation on industries that are critical to our economy, I like safety laws that keep things like lead out of our food, I value many things higher than corporate profits, I don't think that inheriting money isn't income and should be tax free, I think being an intellectual is a good thing, I think people that live in big cities are every bit the Real American that someone who lives on a farm is, I think treating people who aren't like you with respect is important, I think you can support a soldier as a heroic figure without thinking the war he's in was a good idea, I think our government has three branches with checks and balances and this is good, I think spying on our citizens without probable cause is unconstitutional, I think breaking the constitution is a bad thing for our government to do, I think holding people indefinitely without cause is bad, I think torture is unamerican and not particularly useful as an information gathering tool, I think appointing people because they're your buddies instead of because they're qualified for the job is bad government… I can clearly go on and on.

Wish I could add something to this beyond "Amen", but he really says it all eloquently.