Yes We Carve

As shared by our Political Director - Ed...

check it out:
http://yeswecarve.com/

Yes we can … have civilized pumpkin carving

Three old friends who met while working for a Seattle record label launched the nationwide Obama pumpkin extravaganza Yeswecarve.com last week. Josh Horton, 29, lives in Memphis, Tenn.; Jason Powers, 31, lives in Manhattan; and Josh Jeter, 25, mans the carving operation in Chicago.

It's not your typical pumpkin-carving affair — these pumpkins will have candidates' heads carved into them.

It's civilized pumpkin carving, so no smashing pumpkins and "no attack pumpkins," assures Powers. "We're not going to allow any bashing on our site."

Here's how it works: The site offers creative Obama stencils for pumpkin carvers to meet up for carving parties around the nation. The page showcases photographs of the carvers with their Obama pumpkins. Horton said he came up with the idea while lying in bed with his wife. The couple was discussing, of all things, pumpkin carving and began conjuring silly Obama pumpkin phrases such as the "Barackolantern" and the "Obumpkin." The next day he bought the domain name and phoned his friends. One thing agreed upon early on was that the site should not be overtly political, despite the fact that all three are Obama supporters.

There are rules: no negative stenciling, and no carving McCain's head into a pumpkin with a large red X through it. Mainly, the creators just wanted something different.

"Everyone has a yard sign," Horton said. "There's nothing personal about that. There's something expected about that."

Jeter, who enjoys pumpkin carving in his off time from the University of Chicago Law School (where Obama taught), thinks of it as the "organic version of lawn signs." He's also looking forward to BYOP (last letter stands for "pumpkin") parties. "I was thinking maybe we'd restore civil discourse one pumpkin at a time," he said. So far, the site is catching on, having accrued approximately 8,000 visits.

Sarah Palin's "poetry"

I didn't believe this at first, so I went back and listened to her during the VP debate. She actually talked as if reciting poetry. This Slate.com article displays Palin quotes in poetic cadence from the few media interviews she has given.
http://www.slate.com/id/2201342/

China's Melamine scandal hits U.S. candymakers

Just what you want to find out before Halloween and buying all the candy to give away. Not to mention the dangers posed to children. Parents be warned about Snickers, M&Ms, Oreos.
See CNN's newstory for details.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/29/candy.milk.ap/index.html

The REAL McCain

If you haven't heard about Brave New Films' project chronicling the "Straight Talk Express" aka McCain's flip flopping. They have done an excellent job compiling video of various speaking engagements of McCain contradicting himself. Here is the link to check it out yourself.
http://therealmccain.com/

Is Heart pissed at McCain?

http://www.cbsundstrom.com/fuckyoujohnmccain.jpg

Marriage Equality...Finally

On May 15, 2008 the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of equally and made same-sex marriage legal in our state. Effective 30 days from the decision (June 16, 2008) couples who have been together longer than I’ve been alive (I’m still in my twenties, at least for a few more months) will be able to have their relationship defined as married. That is after they file the marriage petition. There are still some questions and concerns not fully addressed by the Court’s decision, and Equality California (www.eqca.org/marriage/faq) is a great resource.

The full impact of the decision didn’t truly hit me until I ran into some friends who’ve been together a long time, and they shared with me their plans to get married on June 16th. Tears rushed to my eyes, as they are doing right now as I type this. I was and am overwhelmed that so many couples I know will finally have the chance to marry the person s/he loves.

Not all of my friends in this situation are planning weddings yet. This has actually caused a disagreement among one couple I know. Several years ago they had a commitment ceremony with family and friends. Now that they can get married one wants a big ceremony the other just wants to go down to the courthouse. I’m just thankful they now have the choice.

Unfortunately, opponents of marriage equality were prepared for the CA Supreme Court’s decision by putting a proposition on the November ballot that would overturn this ruling. Governor Swarzenegger has stated he will not support the proposition. And, a poll released today shows that 51-42 percent of registered voters believed same-sex marriage should be legal in California. That is a significant change in ideology.

Thank you to all the LBTGQ people and friends (like PFLAG) for speaking out and making this issue personal. Although the scenes from 2004 of the San Francisco weddings were deemed a reason why Republicans retained control, I believe it paved the way in people’s hearts to be more accepting of others. The numerous pictures of couples expressing their love for each other after years together made it personal.

How much more personal can you get then from a statement from one of our members included in the California Young Democrats’ press release.

"We thank and congratulate the Supreme Court for their monumental and historic decision, and look forward to the fight that is still ahead," said Rachel Kau-Taylor (Sonoma County), Chair of the YDA GLBT Caucus. "A Constitutional Amendment to limit marriage (1298. (07-0068) is pending signature counting and stands ready to qualify for the November ballot in California. This would embed discrimination in the California State Constitution, and great leaps forward still remain in making one marriage available to all in our state laws and at the national level."

I can’t wait until June 16th! I’ll be heading to the courthouse to witness the barriers of segregation crumble under love.

No on 98, Yes on 99

Or if you prefer: We hate 98!

Proposition 98 goes too far. It was placed on the ballot by wealthy landlords who spent millions to put it on the ballot. It would rollback laws protecting renters and the environment. Proposition 99, on the other hand, provides protections to landowners from eminent domain (for private development purposes) while also protecting renters' rights and the environment.

The authors of Prop 98 think people should be able to do anything they want on their own land. Hmm…I wonder if the language would allow them to bypass other laws and regulations like land-use that neighbors rely on to keep their neighborhoods respectable (and with no monstrosity eye-sores).

Prop 98 guts environmental protections. Just when we are beginning to take serious action on global climate change, the laws we’ve passed to protect our land, air, water and coasts would be overruled. Our drinking water all comes from the same supplies. This puts us all at risk.

Hate frivolous lawsuits? Then vote no on 98. If this passes it opens the door to a lot of those lawsuits. The end results higher taxpayer costs and an economy hurting even more than it already is.

Who opposes Prop 98? That's why a broad coalition including AARP, League of Women Voters of California, the Coalition to Protect California Renters, California Professional Firefighters, California Alliance for Retired Americans, California Teachers Association, California Police Chiefs Association, California Chamber of Commerce, and dozens of others. Governor Schwarzenegger, Senators Boxer and Feinstein and nearly every other state-wide elected official also are urging a NO vote on Prop 98. Many of these same groups are also supporting a real eminent domain reform on the June 3rd ballot. Proposition 99 is the straightforward solution we need to protect against eminent domain abuse. Prop. 99 prohibits government from using eminent domain to take a home to transfer to a private developer. Unlike the landlords' Prop. 98, Prop. 99 is eminent domain reform with NO HIDDEN AGENDAS. Please be sure you have the facts and vote NO on 98 and Yes on 99 on June 3rd.