Saturday, November 15, 2008
15 Nov 2008 09:50 pm
A reader writes:
You wrote:
"When every gay person and every friend or family member of a gay person really, truly believes that the status quo is unacceptable, we will win."
I'm not gay. I don't have gay friends or family.
This isn't about homosexuality. This is about civil rights.
I attended the rally in Portland, ME (no pictures, sorry) with my wife and 4 year old son. A lovely older gay woman in the crowd thanked me for coming, and I thanked her right back. I don't support gay marriage as a favor to gays, and I'm not owned anything for fighting discrimination. We don't--we shouldn't--need to rely on gays, on friends and families of gays, to ensure equal rights for all Americans.
I've got no special affinity for the gay community, but I'm an American and a patriot: I've got a special affinity for my fellow Americans. I'll be damned if I acquiesce to such shameful hate and discrimination.
(Photo: Protesters cast shadows on the street as they take part in a demonstration to condemn the ban of same-sex marriages in Los Angeles on November 15, 2008. The same-sex marriage ban sparked angry protests across the nation with thousands taking to the streets in Los Angeles chanting slogans like 'Yes We Can.' By Jewwel Samad/AFP/Getty.)
15 Nov 2008 08:41 pm
A reader writes:
The speeches were heartbreaking today. One guy just left his brother newly diagnosed with cancer and a father diagnosed with a terminal heart condition and moved here. Why? Because his non US partner was not allowed to stay in the US with him. So they chose to move to Canada to be with each other. As for me and my partner, we are one of the 18,000 couples who recently married in California. As we are both US citizens, unlike many of our friends, we can live together in the US. However, until the day comes when we have equal civil rights as our straight neighbors, thanks but no thanks. Canada is now our new home. I cannot tell you how good it feels to have equal civil rights under the law. It is more profound than I had ever expected or can explain in a few short words.
15 Nov 2008 08:36 pm
This sums a lot of it up:
A week ago I wrote you just to vent and express my sadness
about the ban on gay marriage ... but today after attending our rally in South
Beach, I won't be any more. I am not sad nor do I want to be angry any more. I just
want to do what needs to be done.
Fired up. Ready to go.
Know Hope. These things take time. But we have changed consciousness and we have begun finally to tackle the last remaining obstacle. Not our opponent's misplaced fear and misguided panic. But our own lack of fire, our own capitulation to the forces that would eclipse and marginalize and demean us.
When every gay person and every friend or family member of a gay person really, truly believes that the staus quo is unacceptable, we will win. Today, I think we reached a tipping point. Now our task is to find a way to channel that conviction more aggressively, with more focus and professionalism. We will. And the next generation will lead the way.
(Photo: around 3 pm in Washington DC, today, as the protest made its way to Lafayette Square.)
15 Nov 2008 08:22 pm
A reader writes:
Well over 1,000 people rallied
outside the Las Vegas GLBT Community Center this afternoon and then
lined Sahara Avenue with cheers and banners. The biggest news out of
the event was that Wanda Sykes, the comic, came out publicly for the
first time. Her bottom line: "I’m proud to be a woman, I’m proud to be a black woman and I’m proud to be gay."
15 Nov 2008 08:20 pm
A reader writes:
We met at the north end of downtown on a grey but very pleasant late morning, warm for this time of year. The crowd was hundred and fifty or two hundred strong and cheerfully disorganized. There ware at least a dozen dogs. It wasn't clear if anyone was running the thing, though somebody had made up a variety of hand-lettered signs. My favorite was "I'm a little bit country, you're a little bit fascist." We marched uneventfully to the courthouse then stood around on the lawn for a while, everybody drinking coffee in their Polarfleece and chatting with their neighbors while brandishing our signs. Passers-by on Broadway were honking their horns & giving us the thumbs-up.
It was a day which made me feel good about our town & optimistic for our future, gay & straight.
15 Nov 2008 08:19 pm
15 Nov 2008 08:15 pm
A reader writes:
With less than 24 hours notice that a rally was being held
in Greenville, SC about 40 of us gathered in front of City Hall to let others
know we support equal marriage for all persons. As this is the center of
the Bible Belt, we were unsure of what reaction we would receive from passing
motorists and pedestrians. What a pleasant surprise, the only fingers
displayed to us were in the shape of a V. Horns honked, people shouted
support and a few folks even joined us to lend their support. The crowd
itself ranged from those in their 20’s through to a couple in their late
50’s. A huge surprise and confidence booster is the fact that 10-15
of those in attendance were heterosexual... they came to show their
support. While we would like to think the message of equal marriage is a
civil rights issue, and an issue of equality came through loud and clear, the 6
p.m. news made sure to counter our actions with comments from others letting us
know to them it is all about religion and God.
It was a blessed, peaceful event – what more could we
ask for?
15 Nov 2008 08:12 pm
There's a vast selection of photos from around the country, with new ones added all the time, here.
15 Nov 2008 08:09 pm
A reader writes:
"Marriage means something," said one of the speakers. This speaker then told of the sudden death of his partner of thirty-four years. They had a trust; they had papers of all kinds; they had planned and prepared for every contingency - except for a lack of respect and regard for their 34 year commitment to each other. The funeral home insisted they could not cremate this man on the word of his partner of three plus decades; they needed an OK from a family member. No document, however legal, mattered on that loss and shock filled day after the unexpected death of this speaker's partner of 34 years - thirty-four years.
Think about that when you next hear that contracts and papers are enough and marriage isn't sacred or right for these people.
We are so often told by opponents of marriage equality that they do not oppose our right to have basic legal protections. What they do not understand, because they have never had to understand, is that without legal marriage, gay couples are always subject to the veto of family members who have more say over our spouses under the law than we do.
I remember a story told me during the AIDS epidemic. A man was visiting a friend dying in hospital. It was a grim scene, as it often was in those days. The next bed in the ward had a curtain drawn around it. And from behind that curtain, you could hear someone quietly singing. The man told his friend, "Well, at least that dude is keeping his spirits up, however sick he is." And the friend replied:
"Oh, that's not the patient singing. He died this morning. And his family came to collect the body. That voice you hear is the man's partner. The family didn't approve of his relationship and they have barred him from coming to the funeral and kicked him out of their shared home. That song he's singing is the song they called their own. It was playing when they met. He used to sing it to him all the time when he was dying."
"He's still singing it even though they've taken the body away. He's singing it to an empty bed. I guess it's the last time he feels he'll ever be close to the man he loved. They were together twenty years. The hospital staff don't have the heart to ask him to leave yet."
Until you have been treated as sub-human, it's hard to appreciate how it feels. We will not give up. And we will win in part for the sake of those who never made it to see this day.
This is what my faith teaches me, whatever the Vatican insists. Our love really is stronger than their fear.
15 Nov 2008 07:48 pm
A reader writes:
My husband and I went to the rally in Long Beach. Many of the organizers
where from local affirming churches. They spoke about the need to not blame
all Mormons or all gays. It was about the need to treat others like we want
to be treated and by doing so we will change minds one by one. That's a
true Christian message, and it's powerful.
There will be a campaign by the Christianists to define and describe the reaction to having our families attacked and marriages voided as bigoted, angry, vicious and the like. A few incidents will be used by the usual suspects - O'Reilly, Hannity, Beck, Kristol, Drudge, Fox, The Weekly Standard, National Review, FRC et al. - to tarnish the thousands who showed up today as nasty people hostile to religious freedom. Watch them also try to use code-words about children to stir up fear. There's nothing we can do about this kind of thing, except show that the overwhelming sentiment from today was positive. Yes, we're angry. If all Mormons were told today that the majority had removed their civil right to marry, they'd be angry too.
But this was a day when anger was channeled into confidence and strength and love. That's been the tone of all of the hundreds of emails I've gotten today. It's the tone of the next generation. And they have reached the mountain top. They will not be stopped from reaching the promised land.
15 Nov 2008 07:38 pm
A reader writes:
Here in Grand Forks, ND, about 75 protesters gathered in from of the
City Hall and then marched to the Town Square. The turnout was
thrilling, but more encouraging were the passersby. College-aged men in
pickup trucks pumping fists and flashing peace signs. Women reaching
over from passenger seats and honking their husbands' horns. Elderly
folks smiling and waving. Not a single person yelled anything out of a
car window. Come to think of it, I only saw one middle finger the whole
day!
I'm a
politically active 25 year-old law student, and I really do think--at
least it feels like--this is our generation's Stonewall.
When Stonewalls are happening in North Dakota, it's more than Stonewall. It's the Awakening. The Mormon campaign to void our civil marriages woke us up. Thanks, LDS! Sometimes, you have to see the bigotry in front of you before you realize you have to overcome it.
15 Nov 2008 07:24 pm
A reader writes:
I just got back from the LA protest. It was amazing. The protest was very well organized. The mayor
showed up, the head of the local chapter of the Southern Christian
Leadership Council gave a great speech, Lucy Lawless gave a speech
(c'mon, you have to love that)---all-in-all, I was struck by how positive everyone was. I mean, people were clearly against Prop 8,
but there was a real sense that change was going to come, and that we
were going to be the ones to make it happen. I left feeling much, much
better than I had when I came there.
What's more, I have a great story for you.
Continue reading "The View From Your Protest: Los Angeles" »
15 Nov 2008 07:23 pm
An image of the Statue of Liberty with a rainbow boa is displayed
during a rally against the passing of Prop. 8 on November 15, 2008 in
San Francisco, California. By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.
15 Nov 2008 07:21 pm
A reader writes:
A few months ago on the day that marriages started in California, my
boyfriend and I went down to the San Diego County Administration
Building to see couples commit themselves to one another. It was one of
our proudest days. And again today, we marched from Hillcrest, San
Diego's predominantly gay neighborhood downtown, past city hall and the
Hall of Justice to the County Building where San Diegans exercised
their equal right to marry until just days ago. I walked right by the
arbor where my sister married her wife. Passing by the spot it struck
me that she couldn't do that anymore.
On the route, people in blocked traffic honked and got out of their
cars to wave or offer a thumbs up. Very few negative reactions, just a
whole lot of love. Organizers say at least 15,000 San Diegans marched
today. Meanwhile, following the march our new openly gay councilman
announced that San Diego is looking to join San Francisco's lawsuit
against Prop. 8. Bring it on.
15 Nov 2008 07:12 pm
Even Joan Crawford showed up:
15 Nov 2008 07:10 pm
A reader writes:
Wow! For a community that keeps getting kicked in the gut, the vibes
were very positive today in Saint Louis. Over a thousand people showed
up on the first bitterly cold day of winter to hear the mayor, the
president of the Board of Alderman (who gave a particularly good speech
that I will send you if I can find a video or transcript), state
representatives, activists, and ordinary citizens speak up for
equality. There was anger, yes, and a tinge of sadness, but hope really
seemed to rule the day in each of the speeches, and in the mood of the
crowd.
15 Nov 2008 07:03 pm
A reader writes:
We gathered on the lawn of our local general store to protest Prop 8,
stand up for marriage equality, and celebrate love. The grandparents
held signs; the children danced; the dogs wore veils. All in all, it
was a fairly typical day in the Berkshire hills.
15 Nov 2008 06:53 pm
A reader writes:
I went, along with my straight sister. Turnout was very high, and the protest area was
PACKED - there was almost no room to move around, and at a certain point
it became so crowded that I couldn't lift my sign without hitting
someone.
It was an incredibly exciting day. Several members of the New York
City Council spoke, and the mood of the protesters was generally very
positive and inspiring. One of the speakers mentioned that the last
time she had seen this many gay people rally in the streets over
something, it was 1998 and Matthew Shepard had just been murdered. That got me thinking - I'm 23, and a large part of the crowd was around
my age - in 1998, I was 13 and just starting to realize that I was gay.
For younger gays, this is the first time we've had the chance to
take to the streets and fight for our basic humanity. Now that we've
gotten a taste of what it feels like, I don't think we're ever going to
give it up.
The next generation, gay and straight, get this more than ever. They will lead us now. I could not be happier to let them show me the way. This battle feels so much less lonely than it once did. The ripple has become a flood.
15 Nov 2008 06:46 pm
A reader writes:
The Chicago turnout was a little hard to believe - thousands of people
blocking State Street and even Michigan Avenue. People in cars
everywhere were honking their horns and leaning out of apartment
windows in support. We even ran into one (straight) wedding party near
the Hancock Tower that took some signs and held them up for us. It was
exhilarating and, as one older gay couple put it, "We haven't seen
anything like this since the sixties."
Another adds
It is difficult to separate the recent joys of the presidential
election with the disappointments in California, Arkansas, Florida and
Arizona. Today at the Chicago protest, it was no different. The
protest was held right next to Barack Obama's former Senate Office in
the federal building next to Calder's famous Flamingo sculpture.
Continue reading "The View From Your Protest: Chicago" »
15 Nov 2008 06:35 pm
A reader writes:
I'm a straight man, and my wife and I were disgusted with the claims of marriage equality opponents that gay marriage is a threat
to the integrity of the institution. Now is the time for fair-minded people to stand up in Tennessee,
whose state legislature is now entirely controlled by Republicans, as the anti-Obama vote was coordinated with a
mobilization of Christianists, who turned just enough seats
to control the state house.
One of their stated goals is to reverse the
basic gains gays and lesbians have made in their rights to adopt. I
hope the 300 or so protesters, who were joyous in discovering their ability to mobilize so quickly, will represent the beginning of what will be a
tough fight: progressive Nashville is not the rest of the state, and we
represented a fraction of the average Sunday at one of the right-wing
megachurches.
But for today, optimism and a start.
15 Nov 2008 06:35 pm
A reader writes:
A little over 100 people braved the raw, wet day to stand in front of the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue in Toronto
to join their sisters and brothers in supporting the right to marry.
Ironically, security restrictions in front of the Consulate had police
direct people to across the street, to congregate in front of the
Provincial Court House where the Halpern decision in 2003 gave same-sex couples the right to marry in this province.
15 Nov 2008 06:31 pm
15 Nov 2008 06:30 pm
A reader writes:
Your reader entirely misses the point, and it's a point too important for the
future of activism to miss. When I asked gay journalist Rex Wockner in
email who was spearheading this movement, he replied, "LOL. Facebook."
And he's right. Unlike the usual rallies organized by the usual
suspects with the usual permits and the usual crowd, this rally was
whipped up virally via social networks and email chains. There wasn't
time for the usual amenities available to long-range organizers. There
was a stage and a sound system, but the speeches were drowned out by
all the news helicopters. It didn't matter. Mormon moms, straight
allies, gay vets, nerds from Stanford, and loving families of all ages,
races, and genders showed their support for people like me and my
husband. We were very happy today.
I totally agree. DC was also unorganized, rather than disorganized. We had almost no speeches, and all the signs were hand-made. But that was the point.
Continue reading "The View From Your Protest: San Francisco" »
15 Nov 2008 06:29 pm
A reader writes:
Over here in the Netherlands, gays and lesbians are first
class citizens with all the same rights as anyone else. Those of us from the US
however, lose those rights whenever we travel home. Cross the US border and you
become a second class citizen. If you have a non-US same-sex spouse or partner, it’s hard
not to become bitter about our lack of rights back home.
Continue reading "The View From Your Protest: Amsterdam " »
15 Nov 2008 06:19 pm
A reader writes:
The protest took place from 1:30 to 4:00, in front of City Hall. The weather was rainy and gloomy, but you could never tell by the attitude in the crowd. The feeling was not one of defeat, but of determination, of a willingness to fight. I ("Str8 against H8") stood next to a transgendered woman, a gay couple, and an elderly man and woman, all for the same cause. There were numerous speakers - congresspeople, advocates, teachers, speaking not just of prop 8, but of trans rights, DOMA, and the change that the community has brought forth, and will do again. Even when there were counter protesters, people at the rally stood up. A group of teen boys went to CVS, made quick signs, and stood in front of the hatemongers, telling them that they "were gay, and voting will not make them go away." In the end, it summed up the message of the rally - the fear of the oppressors will be drowned out by our determination. We won't shut up, and we won't give up.
15 Nov 2008 06:09 pm
A reader writes:
I am a straight woman in my 40s. My husband and I went to
Madison's Library Mall today to lend our voices in opposition to
California's Proposition 8 (and Wisconsin's similar anti-marriage
amendment passed two years ago). The crowd skewed toward younger folks and same sex couples, but we
were not the oldest folks, nor the only straight folks, in the crowd.
Continue reading "The View From Your Protest: Madison, Wisconsin" »
15 Nov 2008 06:03 pm
A reader writes:
I just returned from our Houston rally, and I have to say I am so proud
of our community today. There must have been about 600 people. Gay,
straight, black, white, young, old, married, single. But one community.
One goal. Equal rights. The speakers were inspiring and the crowd
stayed around for several hours. There were smiles everywhere, and a
few tears when the mother of gay son spoke, with her son and his
husband beside her. And then at the end, all the couples who had been
married in California were invited to to the front. It was a unifying
moment.
15 Nov 2008 05:57 pm
A reader writes:
Just came from the protest in Tallahassee, where folks marched from the
Westcott fountain in front of Florida State University through downtown
Tallahassee to the old state capitol building. One official estimated
the marching group at 350, which is pretty good for an
uncharacteristically chilly day in FL. The state capitol sits at the
intersection of two main streets in Tallahassee and as pastors and
community leaders spoke from the capitol steps, marchers stood along
the street with signs, enjoying the encouragement, cheers and honks of
cars passing by. One elderly African-American man stood amid the
protesters holding up a sign that read "Same Sex Marriage: Evil,
Unholy," but he was the only counter-protester present.
15 Nov 2008 05:55 pm
A reader writes:
Although there is an obvious lack of structure to the rally, there has
to be a couple of thousand protesters at City Hall and it keeps growing.
15 Nov 2008 05:53 pm
A reader writes:
The news from Denver is that gays in Denver get it. We really get it. I just came from the "protest" rally where a crowd of 3,000 to 5,000 people gathered in support of gay marriage. Speakers stood on the same steps that Barack Obama used to address a crowd of over 100,000 people just a few weeks ago. The thing that stood out to me is how normal everyone looked. I
cannot ever remember seeing that many people people who were so well
groomed, polite and mainstream. I would estimate
that 50% of the crowd were 20 somethings. The biggest difference I see in
the 20 somethings is that they accept themselves so much more than my
generation and therefore don't feel a need to act out.
Continue reading "The View From Your Protest: Denver" »
15 Nov 2008 05:49 pm
15 Nov 2008 05:48 pm
A reader writes:
It's been a gray and intermittently rainy day in the Green Mountain
State. Our protest took place in front of the Burlington City Hall,
which is at the foot of the Church St. pedestrian mall. Despite the
weather, I'd estimate that 250 people turned out.
The basic theme of the speakers was: Vermont needs to return to its
place at the head of the line when it comes to GLBTQ rights. Robyn Maguire, field director for the Vermont
Freedom to Marry Task Force, served as emcee and told the crowd to
volunteer to help lay the foundation for a bill to be introduced next
year (which really means in a few months) that would open civil
marriage to gay couples. What I found striking, though, was that I
recognized no one who had been a part of the battle for civil unions
eight years ago. The crowd was on the young side (and nicely peppered
with straights and gays). Maybe the old guard has given way to new
leadership that is owning the struggle.
Continue reading "The View From Your Protest: Vermont" »
15 Nov 2008 05:47 pm
A reader writes:
It was a truly eclectic group, as fits the local culture - a liitle urban hipster, a little suburban, a little left over hippie, a little rural. The mood overall was pretty up. A lot of emotion in the speeches, not a lot of substance as to where we go. I would put the number around 2 to 3 thousand.
15 Nov 2008 05:42 pm
A reader writes:
Went to the rally at City Hall in NYC today and was struck by the celebratory mood in the air. Today felt like the first time we got a glimpse around the corner the country is beginning to turn, like everyone knew we would win this thing despite the latest setback. It may take longer than we'd prefer, but America will still come through. Today simply reaffirmed that for me, and I didn't appear to be alone.
That's how it felt in DC too. Yes We Will.
15 Nov 2008 05:41 pm
15 Nov 2008 05:40 pm
A reader writes:
I am 35 years old, straight & a military veteran.
I have never in my life participated in a civil protest before, but today I couldn’t
ignore the call.
Today is game-day at OSU’s Beaver Stadium in
Corvallis, so the traffic was very heavy for this college town of 50,000.
There were a few haters giving us the thumbs-down or other rude gestures on the
way to the game, but overwhelmingly the response was enthusiastic &
supportive honking from the football crowd. Of the 100+ protesters, a
very large portion of them were straight and there with their spouse or
family.
My gay brother-in-law Mark passed away a few weeks
ago. I wish he could have lived a little while longer to see this fight
finally won.
15 Nov 2008 05:39 pm
A reader writes:
I attended the pro-gay marriage protest in San Francisco this morning, and I have never seen a protest
that badly organized in all my years attending badly organized protests
in San Francisco. There were lots of people there, for sure, and the
organizers should be commended for getting the word out. But there was
no stage, so no one could see the people who came to rally us.
Continue reading "The View From Your Protest: San Francisco" »
15 Nov 2008 05:38 pm
A reader writes:
As a straight man, and a lifelong Republican (until the Palin pick), I
was rare company at the DC Prop. 8 protest. I went because
discriminating against homosexual marriages isn't just wrong, it's
ridiculous.
Walking through the crowd in front of the US Capitol, I was nearly
moved to tears. To look into the faces of so many people and realizing
that their lives felt incomplete, that they were told by our government
and by many in our society that they are somehow less than human, that
they do not deserve the same rights as everyone else, was nothing short
of depressing.
This was my first protest march ever; yet, through the cold rain of
a November Saturday, for far longer than I'd walk on any other day, in
the company of people with little in common with me, I felt completely
fulfilled. The protesters felt like family.
15 Nov 2008 05:32 pm
Apologies for the lack of posts. Aaron and I were at the protest in DC, and just got back. It was really uplifting: a great vibe, even in the rain. A big turnout, skewed young, gay and straight, all races and colors and creeds. In the twenty years I've been fighting the marriage fight, I have never seen the gay and gay-friendly population this energized on this issue. It took me back to the 1980s and 1990s, but the atmosphere was more confident, more mainstream, and less angry. I have no doubt any more that we will win.
And as we marched past the World War II Memorial, with Lincoln in the background, something a little miraculous happened. A rainbow broke out over the capitol past the Washington Monument.
15 Nov 2008 05:20 pm
A reader writes:
I'm not very good at counting these things, but I'd say we had about 1,500
at the rally, an astonishing number considering that the organizing for this
started Monday night, there wasn't even a vote in Minnesota on gay rights
issues, and temps were in the mid-30s. The sun had come out for the first
time in days. It was mostly people in their 20s, and a surprising number
of straight couples and families with children. There were no
counter-protesters. There were no anti-Mormon signs or statements from the
speakers. In fact, state senator Scott Dibble, an openly gay man,
said of those who supported Prop 8: "They are good people. They care about
their families. We must show them how much we care about
ours."
15 Nov 2008 05:19 pm
15 Nov 2008 01:30 pm
"The right to marry whoever one wishes is an elementary human right compared to which ‘the right to attend an integrated school, the right to sit where one pleases on a bus, the right to go into any hotel or recreation area or place of amusement, regardless of one’s skin or color or race’ are minor indeed. Even political rights, like the right to vote, and nearly all other rights enumerated in the Constitution, are secondary to the inalienable human rights to 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence; and to this category the right to home and marriage unquestionably belongs," - Hannah Arendt, Dissent, 1959.
15 Nov 2008 12:19 pm
Jeremy Bearer-Friend and Daniel Redman write about transgender youths in red America:
Many would view the politically red heart of the country as a harsh, unwelcoming, and vaguely dangerous place for the transgender community. When we think of states like Nebraska and Wyoming, we don't think of M.J. -- we think of people like Brandon Teena and Matthew Shepard, both killed in vicious, nationally publicized hate crimes. But the truth of the matter is far more interesting, inspiring, and instructive. Away from the coasts and the urban havens, a vibrant transgender-rights movement is slowly emerging across the mountain and plains states. Through increased visibility, community building, legislative outreach, and face-to-face public education in churches, schools, and neighborhoods, trans people are building a foundation for equality in some of the nation's most conservative regions.
If you haven't read it already, Hanna Rosin's article on transgender children is a small masterpiece.
15 Nov 2008 10:45 am
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, 2.36 pm.
15 Nov 2008 09:55 am
Michael Lewis recalls his time in finance:
To this day, the willingness of a Wall Street investment bank to pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars to dispense investment advice to grownups remains a mystery to me. I was 24 years old, with no experience of, or particular interest in, guessing which stocks and bonds would rise and which would fall. The essential function of Wall Street is to allocate capital—to decide who should get it and who should not. Believe me when I tell you that I hadn’t the first clue.
Continue reading "The End Of Wall Street" »
15 Nov 2008 09:08 am
Packer has an e-mail exchange with foreign policy maven David Kilcullen. Here's Kilcullen on the situation in Afghanistan:
It’s bad: violence is way up, Taliban influence has spread at the local level, and popular confidence in the government and the international community is waning fast. It’s still winnable, but only just, and to turn this thing around will take an extremely major effort starting with local-level governance, political strategy, giving the Afghan people a well-founded feeling of security, and dealing with the active sanctuary in Pakistan.
Continue reading "Barely Winnable" »
15 Nov 2008 07:58 am
Jon Cohn says Chapter 11 bankruptcy might not be an option:
In order to seek so-called Chapter 11 status, a distressed company must find some way to operate while the bankruptcy court keeps creditors at bay. But GM can't build cars without parts, and it can't get parts without credit. Chapter 11 companies typically get that sort of credit from something called Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) loans. But the same Wall Street meltdown that has dragged down the economy and GM sales has also dried up the DIP money GM would need to operate.
That's why many analysts and scholars believe GM would likely end up in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which would entail total liquidation.
Continue reading "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt, Ctd." »
Friday, November 14, 2008
14 Nov 2008 08:44 pm
Ronald Bailey exposes the food miles farce:
According to a 2000 study, agriculture was responsible for 7.7 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. In that study, food transport accounted for 14 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture, which means that food transport is responsible for about 1 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Continue reading "Icelandic Bananas" »
14 Nov 2008 07:43 pm
The Republicans have lost vast numbers of the educated - and those who prize education - and the successful:
Republicans have lost an enormous amount of support among upscale
voters, basically just breaking even among those with household incomes
above $50,000 a year, a traditional GOP stronghold. Similarly, McCain's
losing to Obama among college graduates and voters who have attended
some college underscores how much the GOP franchise is in trouble. My
hunch is that the Republican Party's focus on social, cultural, and
religious issues -- most notably, fights over embryonic-stem-cell
research and Terri Schiavo -- cost its candidates dearly among upscale
voters.
14 Nov 2008 07:09 pm
An Indian farmer checks a field of sunflowers during the 'Krishi Mela' 2008 - Agriculture Fair - at the University of Agricultural Sciences(UAS) campus in Bangalore on November 14, 2008. The Krishi Mela aims to update agriculturists about the latest developments in their fields and to improve methods of cultivation. Thousands of farmers visit this fair in order to gather information on enhancing productivity in their farming with new improved technology. By Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images.
November 9, 2008 - November 15, 2008
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