The best argument for gay marriage and against Prop 8 I've ever heard. No using the Bible to throw it back in Christians' faces, no arguments about legality, just pure, heartfelt emotion. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCBczUzEb1A&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1]

Image via WikipediaWith Barack Obama and Joe Biden making history, John McCain heading back to the Senate and Sarah Palin hopefully becoming a distant memory, it's time for the powers-that-be in the Republican party to figure out how they're going to regain power and deal with newly energized Latino and African-American voting blocs. I don't think anyone is surprised by how well Obama did with minority voters, but what's truly scary is how poorly the Republican ticket did with college-educated whites, particularly those under 30. The fact of the matter is, in a time when people are more worried about how they're going to make their mortgage payment (if they still have a house), the whole culture war nonsense that is Sarah Palin's bread and butter — and what got W. his two terms — just doesn't resonate as it once did. Those elements of the base hijacked the GOP and left people like me behind. If Republicans are too short-sighted to see that this election has awoken millions of voters who — by seeing Obama elected — are only going to want more, then we may be seeing the beginning of the end. Republicans need to go back to the principles ...

As the clock ticks down to election day, if you're still on the fence even just a little bit, allow me to tell you why I'm voting for Barack Obama and I think why you should as well. Taxes While both candidates have proposed tax plans that would give cuts to large groups of Americans, according to the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Barack Obama's tax plan would give a majority of those cuts to those who make the least, while John McCain's would give a larger percentage of the cuts to the wealthiest Americans. John McCain has gone around calling Barack Obama a "redistributionist," which is funny, because you know who else was a "redistributionist"? Mark 12: 38-44 — But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything— all she had to live on. If progressive taxes — which have been the foundation ...

Image via Wikipedia Just when I had lost all hope in the McCain campaign, the Republican party and the entire southern and midwestern United States, I saw this video: I used to be a Republican, and in many ways I still like what Zombie John McCain has to say moreso than Barack Obama — especially when it comes to dealing with Iraq and Afghanistan — but I was appalled at the behavior by many of his supporters, campaign workers and his running mate. I knew John McCain was better than this, and I'd always hoped his supporters would be too. I firmly believe the Democratic party has become the Big Tent party, as it seems many on the right are intent on excluding minorities and non-Christians. Hell, not even all Christians are welcome. Try being Catholic and walking into a GOP meeting in the south. Anyway, it's heartening to see that not all McCain supporters are like this. I was glad to find this video on the same day I got two e-mails from different people containing as vile anti-Obama language as I've ever heard. Here are some excerpts: He has no real identity. He is half-white, which he rejects. The rest of him is mostly Arab, ...

I've got this coffee mug in my cupboard, it's beautiful in its gaudiness. A bright, American flag wraps around it, providing a backdrop to an over-sized cutout of George W. Bush and the words he spoke at his inauguration. I bought it on the same trip to DC in 2002 when an old friend of mine posed in front of a life-like picture of George I and George II. I was a proud Republican then. Funny how it can all change. Of course I was influenced by my parents, who had always voted Republican -- even in the Bob Dole debacle of 1996. They scoffed at me when, enamored with idea of kicking the system in the nuts, I voted for Ralph Nader in 2000. But as the Bush administration's time in office dragged on, and the religious right began to hijack the party, I found myself tearing up my Republican card. I felt the party was leaving me in search of greener pastures in the sanctuaries of mega churches, but that didn't mean my beliefs ever changed. For example: I support the war in Iraq and think the surge was a great success. I believe we need to stay the course there ...

Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife It's been a trend for years, perhaps starting with W., perhaps even earlier with Dan Quayle, but whatever the case, why have we become comfortable with -- nay proud of -- the fact that we are all becoming a real-life Idiocracy? If you're wondering how we got this close to Vice President Sarah Palin, it's because of the all-out attack on intellect. In the few days since the debate, I've heard nothing but praise for Sarah Palin's shrewdness, blithely side-stepping questions she didn't want to answer, sticking to her guns (and the outline in front of her) so as not to get herself into any hairy situations. Really, she didn't do anything but duck and dodge, proving once again that she doesn't have what it takes, and that many Americans aren't smart enough to recognize it. Why should it be OK that much of what she says doesn't make any sense? Why should it be OK when she says that it doesn't matter whether Global Warming is a natural phenomenon or man-made? Wouldn't it be easier to solve the problem if we knew the cause? By refusing to answer questions during the debate about changes in the bankruptcy laws ...

Image via WikipediaI'm having an angry day today. I imagine this is what Lewis Black feels like each morning when he gets out of bed. Everything that I've heard or read in the news today makes me want to twist someone's head off then celebrate with a cigarette and a glass of bourbon. Speaking of having a smoke, I started screaming at the radio this morning when I heard a story on NPR about supposed do-gooders in San Francisco trying to ban pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS from selling cigarettes. As a former smoker, I know what a nasty habit it is, but I also think that until smoking cigarettes is illegal (and that day is coming, I promise you) we shouldn't be regulating where you can buy or use them. The market should determine such things. If people want smoke-free restaurants and bars, then the market will create a niche for that. You should absolutely not legislate choices people make for their own bodies. I worked at a restaurant that had a smoking section. Often the section sat empty while people waited at the door for tables in non. It didn't take long for the managers to realize they could make more ...