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cahnOkay, I promised myself one politics post before Tuesday. I promise this will be followed by talk of books!
1. It's sort of interesting to realize that I'm way, way less interested in this Presidential election than I was in 2004. Part of it is because I think McCain doesn't have a chance, being of the incumbent party during an economic downturn, and so the entire thing is a lot less interesting. Partly it's because the drama spent itself with Hillary/Obama and Palin (whereas Kerry/Bush was nonstop drama, what with Dan Rather and the Swift Boat guys and so on...). Mostly, I think, it's because I'm more cynical now about politics in general than I was in 2004. Much of it is because both candidates quite annoyed me in the wake of the bailout.
2. Could we please just get rid of legal marriage and have civil unions for everybody? And then could we just stop talking about it? Please? Except for taxes. I entirely think that it's justifiable to agitate for marriage over civil unions if the benefit is that you only have to fill out one tax form. This has been the primary benefit of our (legal) marriage (the religious marriage had many more fairly obvious benefits).
3. Speaking from a purely strategic viewpoint, the No-on-Prop-8 side is not doing so well from my perspective. They are not nearly as well organized (the Yes side is scary organized) and they have let the Yes side have all their best arguments (the signs I've been seeing with the little icons of families should totally have been co-opted by the No side first). Also? Protesting a Mormon temple: not a bright idea at all, whoever thought of that one.
4. I still utterly hate and despise the California proposition system. We're going to pass more propositions to spend money we don't really have. GAH.
5. This may make me an evil right-wing etc. type, but yes, I would in fact like to be notified if my daughter is getting an abortion, the same way I would really like to know if she's getting operated on for appendicitis or having plastic surgery done.
(edited to add pt 5 and clarify marriage benefits)
1. It's sort of interesting to realize that I'm way, way less interested in this Presidential election than I was in 2004. Part of it is because I think McCain doesn't have a chance, being of the incumbent party during an economic downturn, and so the entire thing is a lot less interesting. Partly it's because the drama spent itself with Hillary/Obama and Palin (whereas Kerry/Bush was nonstop drama, what with Dan Rather and the Swift Boat guys and so on...). Mostly, I think, it's because I'm more cynical now about politics in general than I was in 2004. Much of it is because both candidates quite annoyed me in the wake of the bailout.
2. Could we please just get rid of legal marriage and have civil unions for everybody? And then could we just stop talking about it? Please? Except for taxes. I entirely think that it's justifiable to agitate for marriage over civil unions if the benefit is that you only have to fill out one tax form. This has been the primary benefit of our (legal) marriage (the religious marriage had many more fairly obvious benefits).
3. Speaking from a purely strategic viewpoint, the No-on-Prop-8 side is not doing so well from my perspective. They are not nearly as well organized (the Yes side is scary organized) and they have let the Yes side have all their best arguments (the signs I've been seeing with the little icons of families should totally have been co-opted by the No side first). Also? Protesting a Mormon temple: not a bright idea at all, whoever thought of that one.
4. I still utterly hate and despise the California proposition system. We're going to pass more propositions to spend money we don't really have. GAH.
5. This may make me an evil right-wing etc. type, but yes, I would in fact like to be notified if my daughter is getting an abortion, the same way I would really like to know if she's getting operated on for appendicitis or having plastic surgery done.
(edited to add pt 5 and clarify marriage benefits)
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-01 05:00 pm (UTC)3) It's a sad fact that somewhere along the line, the left became, in general, a lot less tactically and strategically minded than the right. Obama's campaign is one of the few recent exceptions, but see, e.g. the effectiveness of the Republicans when they were in the majority in Congress, v. the Dems as a majority in congress.
4) While I agree with the hate-on for the CA proposition system, hey you guys have a proposition to build a maglev between SF and LA, how awesome is that?
no subject
Date: 2008-11-03 04:14 pm (UTC)4) Hee. If we actually had any money with which to do this, it would be more awesome.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-03 12:33 am (UTC)2. Could we please just get rid of legal marriage and have civil unions for everybody? And then could we just stop talking about it? Please?
This would be my solution, but think of the tax code rewrites. "As of [date], replace "marriage" "married couples" etc, with "partners in civil unions", etc..." Now will the PTB just please get on with it.
Re: 3: Sorry to hear the people I'd vote with are idiots. Liberalism shouldn't mean checking your brain at the door.
5. This may make me an evil right-wing etc. type, but yes, I would in fact like to be notified if my daughter is getting an abortion
It's not the people whose parents would be supportive that I worry about, it's the girls whose parents are borderline abusive and/or unreachable that I worry would be hurt by parental notification. On the other hand, if my hypothetical daughter was pregnant and seeking an abortion, I'd want to be there holding her hand. Or whatever she needed. Does the value of the legislation's intended consequences outweigh the unintended consequences? If I lived in California, I'd be the sway-able undecided whose vote everyone would be courting.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-03 04:21 pm (UTC)2. Hey, it would be good for them! :)
5. Re parental notification: there's a lengthy part about what girls can do if they fear their parents. That's a good point about unreachable parents, though; I hadn't thought of that one, and I haven't checked yet to see what it has to say about that.