On November 5, a majority of Californians who went to the polls voted to pass the controversial Proposition 8 and deny homosexuals the right to marry. Prop 8 seeks to add language to the California constitution to make clear only marriages between a man and a woman would be recognized as legal. Prop 8 was a response to a decision by the Supreme Court of California earlier this year ruling unconstitutional a family law provision that contained identical language to Prop 8. Thus, Prop 8 supporters sought to go over the heads of the Justices and take it to the people to change the California Constitution.

Prop 8 has commanded a great deal of attention since Election Day mainly because of the public outcry that followed its passage, as evidenced by very vocal (and sometimes violent) protests in California. The reaction to the reaction has been very polarizing and perhaps counter-productive to opponents of Prop 8 seeking broad public support for their cause. Many Californians were outraged by the protests because it extended their commutes, while others were forced to question their stereotypes of gays as passive and weak (obviously not watchers of the L Word). It also has had the unfortunate result of feeding the lunatic fringe of social conservatives who were all too happy to refocus their anger on homosexuals as the greatest threat to our Country, a label they had unsuccessfully tried to stick to President-elect Obama. I actually heard a discussion on conservative talk radio to the effect that the gays would not stop with being able to marry one another, but actually wanted the ability to marry animals.  Oh that’s right, I remember hearing about that…something about animal husbandry. Maybe its time to apply an IQ test to voters, just to make sure they have one. But I digress.

Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t really understand the whole concept of a politician “pardoning” a turkey. In this MSNBC video Sarah Palin pardons a turkey however, while being interviewed, you can see others being slaughtered behind her. (WARNING THIS VIDEO IS NOT FOR ANYONE WHO DOESN’T WANT TO SEE HOW TURKEYS ARE KILLED)

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving. That’s alot of birds!

Want to do something to takepart on Thanksgiving? Visit http://www.volunteermatch.org/ and find volunteer opportunities to participate in on Thanksgiving. Volunteer Match pairs volunteers up with volunteer opportunities.

The election might be over but SNL goes on and while it might not be as funny as it was with Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin, the show is still pretty funny.  Politics wise, they opened with  Joe Biden skit to help all of us deal with the loss of Sarah Palin:

Joe’s pretty great, but he’s no Sarah. Alas

Read the rest of this entry »

While it wouldn’t have surprised me to find out that Sarah Palin was actually unclear about Africa being a continent, part of me had a feeling that the comments were taken out of context or trumped up by a bitter aide.  As it turns out, the comments were part of an elaborate hoax, which fooled Fox, MSNBC and much of the blogosphere. The “leak” came from Martin Eisenstadt, a fabricated McCain policy adviser,  who, in video reports, was played by one of the two filmmakers that began the ruse. Here’s one of their videos:

I think a part of us really wanted to believe the gaffes, as frightening as they may have been for a now-former vice presidential candidate.  I’m impressed by how influential their hoax became, which reveals the need for us readers (and bloggers) to be more vigilant about where we get our news.

takepart by learning more about misinformation from Media Matters.

Yesterday Gina wrote about Sarah Palin’s interview to FOX News in which she talks about “some blogger, probably sittin’ there in his parents’ basement wearin’ pajamas”…spreading rumors.

So bloggers at 23/6 are responding to Palin’s accusations with pics of their bloggers in pajamas giving Sarah Palin the finger. I plan to send mine in later this week once I get out of my parents basement.

Want to celebrate the beauty of free speech and free press? takepart and start your own blog at http://www.wordpress.com

Oh Sarah… Even in your own clothes you make me laugh.

Sarah Palin was interviewed by Fox News the other day in an effort to clear up some of the rumors that are floating around about her these days.  She spends the first 8 minutes of the interview circling around some of the issues and then finally a little after 8 minutes she says what she really thinks - that bloggers are to blame! Specifically bloggers who blog in their pajamas in their parent’s basements.

Well Sarah, I may be in my pj’s as a write this, but my parents basement? I think not.  I blog about you in my very own apartment that I pay for with my own hard earned money - unlike your campaign clothes, which seem to me like the equivalent of a very expensive parental basement:

Read the rest of this entry »

Many many months ago, we told you that the incredibly-bearded Chuck Norris had asked Congress to drill here and now.  Well, Norris is back, and has posted an open letter to President-elect Obama (if you recall, Bush has, oh, let’s say…three months left?), giving him some advice.

It seems Norris is concerned that “Democrats have a virtual monopoly over our land, with control of the White House, both houses of Congress, a majority of gubernatorial positions, state legislatures, the courts, the news media, the unions and the entertainment and educational fields,” and wants to make sure this doesn’t ruin the good thing going we have called AMERICA.  And so he says,

It’s no big surprise that I don’t see politically eye-to-eye with you. Actually, I stand in stark opposition to most of your politics. Still, even in our differences, I realize that we must learn to work together if we are to see our country get back on track. After Election Day, I asked myself, despite the outcome, how can I work for our new president to help better America? Then the thought occurred to me, the first question that should be answered is: How will you work for me? After all, it is “We, the People” of the Constitution for whom you are employed, correct?

It’s kind of like what JFK said upon inaguration, except the exact and complete opposite.  Anyhow, Norris outlines four points for Obama to follow to be a good president:

1. Use and cite the Constitution. What does this entail, Mr. Norris?

Read the rest of this entry »

Even if it’s just the beginning of the end of Guantanamo, what good news! It’s nice to know that even though Obama is focusing on the economy he’s still paying attention to the war and all things related.

From the Huffington Post:

“President-elect Obama’s advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.”

The article goes on to to classify how all levels of prisoners would be dealt with, with some prisoners needing a new court system that could deal with their entanglement with highly classified issues.

I have to say that this makes me super excited. Even thought it might be slightly controversial and something new, it is something that takes into account people’s rights (something the current administration didn’t seem to care very much about).

Read the rest of this entry »

Oh Michele Bachman. Amidst all the awesome election news was the disappointing news that Michele Bachman had won reelection.  It gets worse, or “worst” according to Keith Olbermann:

I find it kind of repulsive that this woman, who called Obama “anti-American” would now be claiming some part in his victory in order to make herself look better. It would be one thing if she apologized for her remarks and said that she saw now what the American people wanted (or some such thing). But I don’t believe she has.

Read the rest of this entry »

As President-elect Obama said in his acceptance speech on Tuesday night, he and his family will be bringing a new member with them when they settle into the White House-a dog.  And, news stories report that the dog will be lovingly adopted from a shelter.  How great is it that the Obamas are already making an exemplary choice as the soon-to-be first family by adopting a dog?  Hopefully this will spurn national interest by  families across the country to skip breeders and puppy mills and instead choose a beautiful mutt or pure-bred from a local shelter or animal rescue group.  Coincidentally, this happens to be National Animal Shelter Week and the Obamas’ choice is probably the best PR ever for this movement. I don’t need to remind everyone of the millions of dogs and cats that are annually killed by shelters because of the unmanageable number of animals they receive. TakePart by visiting the Humane Society’s Animal Shelter site today to find your local shelter to adopt a pet or volunteer.