Assisted by the vocal stylings of George Michael and the Muppets, Inside, Looking Out would like to extend everyone a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!
George Michael’s “December Song”
The Muppets “Ringing of the Bells”
Now it’s off to see Nine, Avatar or Up in the Air!
It seems teabaggers took Senator Coburn’s instructions to heart and prayed that one of the sixty senators expected to vote for healthcare reform would fail to show up for a crucial vote. A caller into C-Span this morning said he and his fellow tea baggers held a vigil and prayed for the death of Senator Byrd from West Virginia. Watch:
Teabaggers and religious wackos praying for the death of public servants is certainly nothing new. But having a senator initiate that call to action is an entirely different matter. It only takes one inhinged individual to do us ALL harm. Just one.
Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty appeared in church today to sign the District’s new marriage equality bill into law. From the Washington Post:
Fenty signed in front of 150 activists and same-sex couples — many of whom say they plan to marry — in the sanctuary of All Souls Unitarian in Mount Pleasant.
“We knew this day would come,” Fenty said. “I say to the world: An era of struggle ends for thousands in Washington, D.C. . . . Our city is taking a leap forward.”
Before he signed the bill, Fenty spoke of his interracial upbringing, noting it was illegal for his parents to get married 40 years ago.
“This is one of the churches my parents would have brought me to when I was a boy,” he said as his parents sat among advocates in a second pew. “Things have a way of coming full circle. When you’re mayor.”
It is widely expected that the law will pass a congressional review, despite the best efforts of Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz, who pledges to block the bill.
Video from the signing below:
Officials from Imperial County California filed an emergency motion yesterday to join with ProtectMarriage.com to defend Proposition 8 in the upcoming court case led by Ted Olson and David Boies. Located at the southeastern tip of the state, the largely conservative county supported Proposition 8 by an overwhelming 69 percent of the vote in 2008. From SFGate:
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of an emergency motion Tuesday to intervene in the case. Supervisors say the county’s participation is needed because Attorney General Jerry Brown supports overturning the voter-approved measure, while Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken a neutral position on it.
The board approved the motion by a 3-2 margin.
Imperial County also voted for the Briggs Initiative back in 1978 by the same margin, 69 percent. The measure which would have barred gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools, ultimately went down to defeat thanks to gay rights pioneer and icon Harvey Milk.
It’s interesting that the supervisors felt it necessary to file an “emergency” motion to intervene in the case. Did they also take similar dramatic action when they found out Imperial County has the second highest teen pregnancy rate in the state?
The more things change… the more they stay the same.