Connecticut Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage

Awesome news.

But marriage equality is in danger in California: Proposition 8 on the ballot in November would remove the right to marriage for same-sex couples, and right now polling on that vote shows it's a toss-up, if not leaning for the proposition.

Donate here to help defeat the proposition.

It's Worth the 37 Seconds

And no, that's not what she said.

(hat tip to Eric Hysen)

You guys, you guys, this is shaping up to be awesome.

Do you like how this looks? So do I.

That's the current situation according to RealClearPolitics, if you put each tossup state into the column of the candidate it's leaning toward (and Missouri and Indiana are also really close).

And check out Florida. Four polls released in the last two days, and the worst Obama does is +3.

Unless there's a major game-changer (Joe Biden, I'm looking at you), McCain has a LOT of ground to make up (and he just pulled out of Michigan). This could potentially end up in a blow-out.

p.s. Even without counting tossup states, Obama has 259 electoral votes, just 10 short of victory (since he's pretty much guaranteed to win if it's a tie -- more on that in a later post if that outcome seems plausible).

It's Funny Because It's True

Obama Runs Constructive Criticism Ad Against McCain

--Is Obama going to bring up any of these points of contention in his next debate with McCain?
--No, he'd be too nervous to say them out loud to McCain's face.

Maybe I'm being too harsh on Obama's debate timidity?

i am so so angry

this post is probably going to be extremely incoherent. i can barely keep myself from just banging on the keyboard for a minute and pressing submit.

this is bullshit.

The day began with an agreement that Washington hoped would end the financial crisis that has gripped the nation. It dissolved into a verbal brawl in the Cabinet Room of the White House...

[snip]

Mr. Boehner pressed an alternative that involved a smaller role for the government, and Mr. McCain, whose support of the deal is critical if fellow Republicans are to sign on, declined to take a stand.

[snip]

It was the very outcome the White House had said it intended to avoid, with partisan presidential politics appearing to trample what had been exceedingly delicate Congressional negotiations.

john mccain made a huge freaking deal out of the fact that he was going to stop his campaign, go to washington, and bring the two sides together. then he gets there with a deal ALREADY IN PLACE -- probably not perfect, but at least it's a step in the right direction -- and then he gets there and everything goes freaking insane and instead of bringing people together HE DOESN'T TAKE A FUCKING SIDE AND IN FACT DOESN'T SAY A FUCKING WORD FOR THE FIRST 40 MINUTES.

it's official: if mccain wins, americans are either stupid or racist or both. allowing your ego to potentially ruin the entire economy should automatically disqualify you.

The Great Schlep (or, the greatest campaign idea EVER)

I've never been prouder to be Jewish:
(Warning: super-duper NSFW)

The Great Schlep is real. It's the brainchild of the Jewish Council for Education and Research. Which is real.

Don't believe me? The LA Times has a fun column about it:

Hundreds of Jews will make the Southern exodus on Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 10-13. They will travel to the Fort Lauderdale area, where they will visit their grandparents, organize political salons in their condos and eat incredibly bad food. The grandkids also will meet up at a bar one night, which -- if the psychological impact of spending a few days with frail, elderly, widowed relatives is taken fully into account -- may do more to repopulate the world's Jews than the creation of Israel.

[snip]

To persuade Mama Ann to vote for Obama, I used many of the talking points suggested to me by Great Schlep organizer Mik Moore. These included the fact that Obama went to Columbia and Harvard, and McCain got bad grades in college; that Obama has been criticized by the Rev. Jesse Jackson; and that Obama ran the business side of his campaign better than any other candidate. I did not know that I could be so racially offended by my own people.

Harry Reid Finally Does Something Right

His response to McCain suspending his campaign in order to save the world's economy in under a week:

"This is a critical time for our country," says the Reid statement. "While I appreciate that both candidates have signaled their willingness to help, Congress and the Administration have a process in place to reach a solution to this unprecedented financial crisis. I understand that the candidates are putting together a joint statement at Senator Obama’s suggestion. But it would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation’s economy. If that changes, we will call upon them. We need leadership; not a campaign photo op. If there were ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate before the American people about this serious challenge, it is now.”

I approve. But I'd still like to see him replaced by Dodd, Leahy, or Feingold ASAP.

It's September 20th

Exactly four months until George W. Bush will no longer be President.

Also, exactly four months until Sarah Palin could potentially become President.

Just one of the many reasons why you should go on the Dems' NH campaign trip tomorrow.

Am I a psychic? Only if you don't believe the McCain campaign.

If you are one of the 40 people who regularly read the On Harvard Time Blog (hi, Brian's extended family!) you know that a couple weeks ago I published a half-serious "report" about John McCain lumping together Hispanics because of his age (the serious part being the fact that McCain is in fact old, and the joking part being everything else. Or so I thought.)

Well, now...uh-oh.

McCain seemed to lump Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero in the same category as the anti-American leaders of Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba.

[snip]

Questions about whether McCain forgot which country Zapatero leads, got confused about Spain's geographic relationship to Latin America, or confused Zapatero with the Zapatista rebels from Mexico have exploded on blogs since reports of the interview first surfaced.

In swoops McCain adviser Randy Sheunemann to save to day:

...there is no doubt Senator McCain knew exactly to whom the question referred. Senator McCain refused to commit to a White House meeting with President Zapatero in this interview.

So, if I understand Sheunemann correctly, faced with the choice of just saying his candidate misheard the question and moving on, or saying his candidate won't commit to meeting with the democratically-elected leader of a peaceful NATO member whose only crime against the U.S. is pulling troops out of Iraq and with whom in April McCain said he would meet, Sheunemann chose...the latter.

Ok then. Just as long as I understand him correctly.

Sarah Palin = Tina Fey

But actually.
I wasn't convinced of the resemblance until I saw this piece of comic gold:

Sarah Palin = Dick Cheney

Read it.

There are so many vomit-inducing passages that I couldn't begin to list them all, but here's a nice example:

Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska professor, sought the e-mail messages of state scientists who had examined the effect of global warming on polar bears. (Ms. Palin said the scientists had found no ill effects, and she has sued the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.) An administration official told Mr. Steiner that it would cost $468,784 to process his request.

When Mr. Steiner finally obtained the e-mail messages — through a federal records request — he discovered that state scientists had in fact agreed that the bears were in danger, records show.

“Their secrecy is off the charts,” Mr. Steiner said.

Why I Love Joe Biden:

And why I love the Daily Show:

Which Party is Mitt Romney in?

From his speech tonight:

It's time for the party of big ideas, not the party of Big Brother!

Yeah. You know, Sarah Palin was certainly a bad choice, but when you consider the alternatives...

And here's a fun fact: In the official text the RNC released of Gov. Palin's speech, they twice spelled "nuclear" phonetically, as "new-clear." So if she has to assume the Presidency, at least she'll be more qualified to serve than George Bush in that regard.

I have to share this with somebody:

I was feeling the need to feel the need to throw a running chain saw at my TV, so I flipped on the RNC.

The first thing I see is a delegate holding a sign that said RAISIN' McCAIN.

Unfortunately for her, the apostrophe wasn't very apparent.

Let's compare...

This:

To this (some of the most honest reporting I've ever seen):