Politics

I was reading an article on a new luxury hotel to open March 1 in Berchtesgaden, site of Adolf Hitler’s Alpine retreat. I was struck by this part:

The decision to build a hotel on the site above the German Alp town of Berchtesgaden angered many Jewish groups.

Officials have tried to address their concerns with a documentation center opened in 1999 to detail the area’s Nazi past. In addition, the state of Bavaria kept ownership of the land and set the condition that the hotel be designed for affluent tourists — precautions designed to help keep out neo-Nazis.

Using wealth restrictions to keep out people with far-right beliefs? Wouldn’t work here!

Charles Schumer, quoted in Newsday

“We will have to review his record very carefully, but I can tell you already he’s a better candidate than John Ashcroft,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, which will consider Gonzalez’ nomination. Still, Gonzalez has his own civil liberties baggage. He wrote a controversial February 2002 memo in which President George W. Bush claimed the right to waive anti-torture laws and treaties designed to protect prisoners of war.

Note that Gonzalez called the Geneva Convention “quaint” in that memo.

Schumer also voted for the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act, and the Defense of Marriage Act (as a congressman).

Sean Bonner points me to an article at America For Sale on the fact that Bush did way better than expected in Diebold voting machine counties in Florida. In Cuyahoga Country in Ohio, there were 93,000 more votes than voters. Suspicious?

See also Mac at pesky’apostrophe on the subject.

Ah, yes, the city hardest hit by 9/11 has posters in the subway asking us to send donations to Florida, to a hurricane relief fund set up by Jeb Bush. I’m surprised it was so pristine. It must have just been put up. James took the photo, as I didn’t have a camera with me, but I spotted it.

Fuck him and Hilary. They don’t think gay people should get married, but they’re fine taking the advantages of marriage while Bill messes around on the side.

From The Advocate

According to the latest issue of Newsweek, “Looking for a way to pick up swing voters in the red states, former president Bill Clinton, in a phone call with Kerry, urged the senator to back local bans on gay marriage. Kerry respectfully listened, then told his aides, ‘I’m not going to ever do that.’”

The advice is not inconsistent with Clinton’s record: He is the chief executive who signed the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, which forbids the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages and leaves gay and lesbian couples legally married in Massachusetts since May 17 in legal limbo. The federal DOMA also prevents those couples from acquiring access to the Social Security and other benefits that other legally married couples have.

Actually, this article is nicer to Kerry than it should be. He and Edward expressed their support for Missouri’s anti-gay marriage amendment while campaigning there.

Culture Kitchen is always worth a read, and she has been doing a roundup of her favorite responses to the takeover of our country by stupid bigots. Some highlights: 1, 2.

Also, go read Philo’s rant on Queer Day. Barney Frank needs some therapy if he thinks the problem is gay people getting rights too quickly.

Looking at the map, it looks pretty easy for the good people to join Canada. I think we should secede, now that the majority of Americans have voted for the

• pro-torture
• prevent blacks from voting
• trust in God to tell us what to do
• pro-war
• anti-gay
• anti-abortion

party.

Isn’t it interesting that it’s mainly the more highly-educated states that voted for Kerry?

I think the gay marriage thing is what put them over the top. Way to move in the opposite direction of every other democracy, America.

Related:

• Good Hunter S. Thompson quote