Indeed

your an amazing woman…mad props and thanks

and it has begun

Campbell Brown: For those people who have been worried about the possibility of one party controlling Congress and the White House, the last president to do that, of course, was….?

John King: Ah, that was Bill Clinton, and…

Brown: Jimmy Carter! Jimmy Carter had… Bill Clinton had Democrats in the House and in the Senate?

King: Very briefly.

Brown: Very briefly. [Crinkles her nose] Didn’t go so well.

King: No it didn’t.

pissants!

a day to rest and (clean house)

and then the struggle to fix America continues

epu’ed: great, great clip from naomi klein on the day after the election.

will try to find a transcript for folks on dial up.

How can this happen? My happiness today is tempered by the struggles we have ahead, still. Perhaps our new President will find the way to lead the way on the civil rights that are still but a dream in our world.

good morning,the hard work is just beggining

they have no recollection of the years between 2002 and 2006?

What were they smoking?

i believe so

they are trying to DISSAPEAR CHIMP

Jane, Christy, and all: Look what you’ve done. You are real American Heroes. I applaud you all and thank you for giving me a ride the last 4 years.

Much love and respect, Balrog

I don’t know how this happened, here in California. I can only think that Prop 8 was overlooked until too late. It wasn’t taken seriously, people were focused on Obama and other candidate’s campaigns. The pushback started too late, I didn’t get mailers and emails until the last two weeks. Perhaps earlier information regarding the reported $20 million Mormon investment in the Proposition would have brought more awareness.
I’m ashamed of my state.

i have not heard Chimps name or office spoken in days

The AP has “uncalled” the Minnesota Senate race.

Hell if I know.

It’s terribly sad. Too many people believed the lies in the Yes on 8 ads.
Little story here: yesterday I talked you a young woman who works at a little corner store. She said she was Yes on 8 because of the “religious thing.” I talk to this girl all the time. Last week when I asked her if she was going to vote, she said probably not. Maybe. I asked her who should might vote for. She said whoever her mom voted for. I told her she needed to vote for Obama. She said she never watches the news and didn’t know anything about the election.
How to get though to those types of people.

I was also watching BBC and they had John Bolton trying to justify his positions on the election,and one of the reporters was really handing it back to him”big time”

Yes, sad beyond words for the loss on prop 8. The ironic thing is that the heavy black and latino turnout for Obama was a big reason for why 8 had the votes it did. I’ll never understand why people can’t look at discrimination as an issue that is universal, that no group should be singled out and that civil rights should be bind to color, religion, gender, ethnicity . . . anything that people use to try to divide us.

One hurdle jumped and more yet to come.

AP= TEH SUKKKETH

Just woke up after an all nighter in the UK following the election. So happy that Obama won.. and again was great to see you on the BBC, hugely disappointed on Prop 8 though. An author friend of mine travelled back to LA from Paris to give his vote… hoping that it would lead to him being able to move back to the USA with his Russian boyfriend. I guess it looks like he’ll be in France a bit longer,

Not political but the people I watched the coverage with all said that they loved your style Jane :)

I was at the “Crooks and Liars” party. We missed you Jane! What a night. So many of my friends of mine have been quaking with worry for days but I just knew it was going to be a landslide. What I didn’t expect was that it was going to be all over by 8:30!

Not a good night for me and my LBGT brothers and sisters, though the evil Marilyn Musgrave is gone. Nice to see we’re on President Obama’s laundry list, but what that means in real world terms remians to be seen. As always we’ll have to do it for ourselves.

we are still a petty prying country

Isn’t it a wonderful thing to watch the world celebrate with us? I feel as if I am floating – may not land for quite some time. Thanks so much for the great people at the Lake.

good morning sadly. yes, and let’s add reversing all the ca prop 8 type bs around the country to the todo list.

You can’t, Demi. They’re just stupid.

Cripes I forgot can we get this Prop ruled unconstitutional or maybe we should look into the Mormons and the Catholic Church tax exempt status?
Obviously they should pay taxes on all the money they spend on political purposes. That and Cardinal Law is hiding out in Rome right any other person tries to shield a person in a child molestation investigation and they would get their assets seized right?
Until this matter is resolved meaning the Cardinal comes back for trial/to testify then all Catholic Church accounts would be unable to send the Pope cash.
As I understand things the Church runs at a loss in most of the world. America and Germany make up that loss so freeze the cash send the pope a message.
Now how can we send the Mormons a message Chicago Style?

must remove all descrimination,a tall order for sure

Thanks, Selise. I was reading her post over at HuffPo this morning and wanted to put it up later.

I’ll use it.

GREAT idea

What defeated McShitstain…’the gay’ or ‘the Google’?

So let us begin again, this new morning, to go back to work to make happen the dreams of our nation that are still unrealized.

The youth of our nation have brought us to this point, but there is much work to do. I hope this election is the first of many elections to which they will bring their passion.

“unpossible” imo

they are either idiots or liars, I would bet on the latter. These guys never give the dems any credit when things go great, the 90s, and totally ignore the horrors of the 80s and 2000s led by republicans.

They can complain all they want, all I know is things cant get much worse and I think they are going to get alot better. What a great day to be an American!!!!

the Palin methinks

About Prop 8. Human rights should never be decided by ballot. Rights are rights, and the court must uphold them. Isn’t 8 an example of tyranny of the majority?

FAIRNESS DOCTRINE

For all those who wondered what the progressive blogosphere would be doing the next 4 years, looks like the answer is (a) get a good night’s sleep and then (b) continue to address the laziness and lies of the establishment noise machine. Carry on per usual.

anyone have any clips of Jane on BBC ?

was so damn twitterpated by the flood of results, I never checked the beeb – damn it

note: VA-05 is being called for challenger Tom Perriello – sending embarassment-to-the-species bigot Virgil Goode off to spend more time with his family

Yep.

I absolutely agree. If Black men and women’s voting rights had been a ballot issue, how long would it have taken?

paid lazziness = more than meets the eye,dare i say

I am so sad that Prop 8 is winning. I was driving along Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks a few days ago, and I saw a Honda Passport with a Yes on 8 bumper sticker on it. Who are these intolerant bigots, I thought – and when I pulled alongside it was a middle-aged African-American couple. There’s work to do in tamping down homophobia in that community.

must get back to mopping and sweeping

i feel good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgDrJ5Z2rKw

Bummer. California voted to give more rights to cows and chickens, but to take rights away from gays and lesbians.

How to get back at the haters?

For starters: boycott Utah businesses –this includes their ski resorts, vitamin empires run by that scumbag senator of theirs, etc; look into filing suit against the churches, challenging their tax-exempt status; take this stupid Prop Hate bill to the Supreme Court of the US.

CSPAN replaying Obama’s speech from last night…

o.t., (hope you don’t mind but) . . .

On behalf of all of my fellow progressives in Appalachia . . .

Thanks Christy and Jane and the rest of the FDL team. And thanks to Digby (who probably reads FDL). You make us feel like a family (actually probably better than a family).

Especially thanks to the people of PA (where I was born) and CO (a place that I wished I still lived). And thanks to the people of IN (late is still great because it will help him govern).

And to my fellow Appalachian progressives . . . your vote mattered . . . always remember it counts towards the popular vote.

1,816 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen Hamsher and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:

OK Sister Jane and all the Firepup patriots out there, I hadda work last night and missed the latest results posted from Oregon so: CAN ANYONE TELL ME NUMBERS IN THE OREGON SENATE RACE, HOW MUCH IS LEFT TA COUNT?

OK then I ken go ta bed.

thanks back at you. i hadn’t read naomi klein’s latest at huffpo. another insightful and challenging read.

but good for the cows and chickens too,cant be either or,all must prosper

Ann Kirkpatick wins Rick Renzi’s seat. So one more Dem rep from Arizona.

Jane,

Thanks for all your work and FDL.

In terms of the challenge…Obama noted the regional small businesses he saw during the campaign working on innovative green technologies. One way we could “get going” is to start compiling an information bank on such green businesses and look at how we can start incorporating their product/technology into our everyday lives or see applications of their product within our own work environment.

Sometimes the best way to drive policy is to just start “doing” the policy work before the policies are written and passed as legislation.

Additionally, we need to undo the last 8 years of NCLB and perhaps begin a national movement of after school tutoring centers located at our nation’s schools. This has to be done through volunteer effort. The fact that 40% was considered passing over the last eight years has had a dismal affect on the future generations.

On the housing and foreclosure front… I wonder if we could start thinking “outside” the box here and begin grassroots efforts to address the issue in order to begin the process of stabilizing the market.

Hopefully, the grassroots movement and organization of Obama’s campaign will not go away today. It is a network that needs to begin today to do the “other” work that we can do for our nation in an organized fashion.

shit look at Sydney Au

the world is with us again”g”

http://images.huffingtonpost.c….._large.jpg

PS, Mass decriminalized small amts of weed – how soon can i start growing my garden?

how green was my garden …hahahahahhaa
off to mop…yuck

It’s amazing how a simple majority of voters can take away the rights of a minority so easily. It seems almost un-American. The tyranny of the majority.

Will the Mormons and Catholics now work to end CA’s easy divorce law? It was signed by St. Reagan when he was Governor. It seems like it ends more marriages than anything. If marriage is so sacred, should divorce be so easy?

You know they won’t even say a word.

according to Kos’ map it’s 48/46 bad guy ahead. 25% yet to be counted.

Thanx Sister RevDeb, God bless yer heart and G’nite!

Bush era is not over until the policy changes, some damage is healed, and there is accountability.

It has started but without those 3 things and more (federal judges, a 5-4 to 4-5 in scotus, wages going up for the 99 percenter).

It is so great that we can shout and cry and work on this change.

I do hope it starts with a flash and some momentum.

Great work everyone.

I believe that this will again end up in front of the Ca Supremes and will be declared unconstitutional again.

on education, i propose the following stimulus package (economic and intellectual stimulus):

put out of work construction industry to work building more schools. hire more teachers – and cut class size to 15 (target) / 18 (max). because a teacher who struggles with a class of 35 can be a much better teacher when the class is 25 and amazing with a class of 15.

Nope except to say that any criticism of them is antireligious bigotry.
They only care about money so we need to hit them were it will hurt them their wallet.
If they get snippy we reply I thought the took a vow of poverty? The Mormons and the Pope sure do seem to have a lot of cash though…and a lot of poor followers?

Will the Mormons and Catholics now work to end CA’s easy divorce law? It was signed by St. Reagan when he was Governor. It seems like it ends more marriages than anything. If marriage is so sacred, should divorce be so easy?

That’s the great thing about hypocrisy. There is no need for consistency.

and as you noted Civil Rights.

Union Rights.

The pardons are coming to exuse the damange done.

Nice how the architect’s agenda worked out

For Rove — observers say — enactment of the Bush agenda is a way to win the biggest prize of all: a permanent Republican majority.

Heard Bush on the readio this morning. Obama election historic. He will be the next “Commander in Chief”. But Bush still the Deciderer for the next 75 days, blah, blah, blah.

Aside from all of the political ads, I am constantly baraged by companies advertising how they can intercede with the IRS to forgive their debt. What gives with this? We are going to need to get the IRS in line and start going after these churches that are all about partisan political activity.

ooooooooooo Drifty! Sarah Palin is the Scintilla from Wasilla!

Thanks for the reminder that a progressive’s work is never done. Last night was an historic night, but it was not the end of the struggle to help America live up to her promise.

Our gay brothers and sisters still apparently have a long struggle ahead, so we better get started. As a rural, straight, white male I’m not going to stop agitating until everybody enjoys the same rights and privileges I enjoy.

Eugene V. Debs’ famous quote needs to be added to but I think the sentiment holds true:

“While there is a lower class, I am in it. While there is a criminal element, I am of it. While there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

The pardons are coming to exuse the damange done.

Yes, this is the question that I want asked anytime Bush shows up within shouting distance: “How many crooks in your Administration are you going to pardon?”

I wrote this last night not long before I went to bed, but it bears repeating.

To all my California friends,

It’s time for you fix the California Constitution. Despite what we were taught in grammar school, the Citizen Initiative is not an unalloyed good. What’s wrong with it?

First, ballot access is relatively easy, especially with paid signature gatherers. The problem is that the crazies have figured out that they can get their pet project (Prop 8, or back when I was an undergrad, Howard Jarvis’ Prop 13) on the ballot. Even better, it doesn’t have to go through the legislative process. The grownups don’t give the legislation and its potential consequences a thorough examination and debate. I’m not certain that making ballot access more difficult would solve the problem, because all it would do is keep real citizen initiatives (as opposed to an astroturf initiative like 8) off the ballot due to lack of funding.

So here’s what you do. Change the Constitution to require a supermajority (60% + 1, maybe 67% + 1) for any ballot initiative that have not come from the legislature. You could probably convince half of the Californians that sunrise over the ocean is much cooler than sunsets, and so the Earth should rotate counterclockwise. I’m not sure you could convince 2/3 of them that they can legislate that sort of nonsense.

But before you do that, get another initiative on the ballot in ‘10 to kill 8. And while you’re at it, you should kill some of the other Bad Public Policy initiatives you’ve foisted on yourselves. Like Prop 13. Like whatever the insane prop was that requires a 2/3 supermajority to pass a budget. Like term limits — nice idea, worth trying, but they only make a mess of things.

Sincerely,

A former Californian.

Actually, as Pam Spaulding points out, blacks only represent 6.2% of California’s population. That’s nowhere near enough to pass Prop 8 all by themselves.

As tempting as it is to simply write off whole ethnic groups as unreachable, the grim reality is that Prop 8’s strongholds were in the lily-white parts of the state.

Dugg!

I don’t think a President can pardon someone who’s crime may be linked to the President’s wrongdoing.
Not that Bush won’t try, but it does give us a reason to invalidate almost any Bush pardon we want.
I predict the Smarter Bushies will all move overseas someplace without extradition treaties and or a friendly right wing government.
Honduras perhaps Negroponte I’m sure still has friends in the area. Laura now needs to decide on whether or not to divorce George before his assets are seized but before George goes into hiding.

The real work starts today. What we got last night was the demand from the electorate to start the real work.

I don’t think a President can pardon someone who’s crime may be linked to the President’s wrongdoing.

Actually Bush can as long as the Congress does not come after him with impeachment.

I watched the results last night at an election party here in St. Louis, MO. I’m still pinching myself that Obama/Biden won, and the historic nature of the first African American Prez is still seeping into my psyche. Obama’s speech was wonderful. It was great that he reached out to the voters that did not vote for him. Let’s hope we see more inclusiveness for all and less bipartisinship. Did I say that on a progressive blog? ;)

I cheered that Missouri now has a Democratic Governor and good riddance to Gov. Blunt.

I want to thank everyone at FDL for all that you have done the past eight years for us and for our great nation! Having FDL and Emptywheel as a home has made these past eight years bearable and gave me hope for change. We have a lot of work ahead of us. But I am sure we are up to it.

I am very sad about Prop 8 in CA, too. But electing Obama gives me hope and faith that we can break this cultural barrier too. We must keep up the dream, the hope, and the action that will give gays equal rights and protections in our great nation.

My two-pronged approach on how to fight this is:

1. A proposition to amend the California state constitution to re-allow gay marriage.

2. A proposition to amend the California state constitution to declare all of the groups that fought for Prop 8 to be political groups that are subject to all of the appropriate state and local taxes.

Number 2 is there in order to make this as personal as possible for the Prop 8 backers. They just nullified the marriages of thousands of people. You don’t get any more personal than that. The groups that backed Prop 8 need to be hit back. Hard.

I seem to recall Ford pardoning Nixon.

A pardon is a pardon is a pardon. You can’t invalidate them.

What we can do is demand that those pardoned give a full accounting of their misdeeds before a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, under oath. If we can show that they didn’t come clean, then we try, convict, fine and imprison their sorry asses for perjury.

And this time there’s no Bush lurking in the deck to commute sentences.

I don’t know if any of you have seen it, but there is a guy in the department of physics who does cartograms of the election maps, and transforms or morphs the maps according to population and voting weights. It is very interesting to see.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/

You’re kidding me right?

Remember that we had to send these assholes spines. Impeach Bush? With 11 weeks left in his term? It ain’t happening, more is the pity.

Was Ford involved in Nixon’s crimes? Did the Congress at the time challenge it? We can try and get things right this time.

AFP/Getty ImagesType Size READ MORE FROM ELECTION NIGHT.

Nov. 5, 2008

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life.

[Ms Walker’s letter continued at link. Mod Note; Edited by Mod for length. To help keep the FDL servers running smoothly and to avoid any copyright issues, please do not post entire articles — include a link instead. Thank you. ]

If Prop 8 passes, it is disheartening but people should bear in mind that it represents only one battle and the war continues. I am reminded of what the late senator Everett Dirksen said in voting for cloture to stop filibustering of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Paraphrasing Victor Hugo, “Stronger than all the armies is an idea whose time has come.”

The President can pardon crimes and misdemeaners. How can he pardon something that has not been demonstrated to be a crime or misdemeaner. Ford pardoned Nixon but this was never challenged.

I like it:)

I think we will have plenty of chances to challenge pardons in the future.

Actually, the President pretty much can.

No standards, and only one limitation — no pardons for the impeached.

I just wanted to drop a note that here in Utah (and I imagine elsewhere) the LDS church’s support of Prop 8 has created great division among members.

more cool maps from the nyt.

dallas county went blue.

next on the agenda – hell freezes over.

I like it!

Some election anomolies
California passes prop 8
South Dakota rejects abortion law

A lot of these crimes like war crimes can be considered impeachable offenses.

This morning in our joy let’s not forget our gay brothers and sisters, who were told they were something less than full citizens last night. The final vote isn’t tallied but it doesn’t look good.

couldn’t there be a prop nine that rescinds prop 8?

I would like to see bush impeached post office, his presidency must be renounced in order for us to reclaim our integrity

I think that depends on which of Nixon’s crimes we’re discussing.

I believed then (and believe still today) that Nixon resigned after getting Ford to agree to pardon him. Not that we’ll ever know the truth of the matter.

Of course there can. Then a Prop 10 that cancels Prop 9. California needs to fix its initiative process.

Of course there can.

bingo

Then a Prop 10 that cancels Prop 9

this would actually be a good thing, I WANT them spending millions of dollars only to get their fruit ruined the next election

Sorry. Got overwhelmed.

True, I am hopeful though that Obama does not have a secret deal with Bush.

Fucking organised religion.

I always make sure to quote theologian Paul Tillich when I meet a fundy: “I have come to bring faith to the doubtful. And I have come to bring doubt to the faithful.”

They need to be educated, now.

I like the “Chicago Style” thing.

I say we kidnap Mitt Romney’s hair and hold it for ransome until they relent.

Impeachment is the first step in removal from office the second step is conviction. Once he is out of office you cannot remove him from office. His ass can be tryed but not impeached.

It would be better in the long run for California to fix its initiative process.

The progressives who wrote the California Constitution didn’t envision paid signature gatherers or modern IT. They set the bar for ballot access too low for a modern environment, and idealized the knowledge and reasoning ability of the electorate.

It’s got to made tougher to pass citizen initiatives. But fix the glaring problems first, while it’s relatively easy.

I believe you can impeach officials after they have left office, I believe this was discussed before

ianal

I think it is theoretically possible but will not happen, no matter how justified. It would be viewed as too divisive in the face of Obama’s stated objective of bringing the country together.

At most, we might see the prosecution of some lesser officials from the Bush/Cheney junta.

Impeachment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment

It is a sad day here in California prop 8 still looks to pass(:>(( I am deeply saddened with this attempt to put hate into our Constitution! Such hate does not belong in a document that speaks of freedom! Some how some way this needs to be overturned! Whether in the court or on the ballot once again!
When will people learn that hate was not the way Jesus taught, he would never preach such hate as is the prop 8 contents, all who voted for it should be ashamed of themselves for voting for something Jesus would be totally against!

Well it is off to the courts to try and stop this piece of shit from being amended to our constitution here in California.
To all my gay and lesbian friends and neighbors know that We are one in solidarity with with you!

Jane, tell your friends they can still come to Connecticut and get married. We defeated the Constitutional Convention question, so the ruling on gay marriage will stand.

And I’m a ULC Minister, so I’ll be happy to officiate. :)

Jane, sincere thanks for all you have done to make this day possible. Everyone at FireDogLake should be celebrating themselves today.

If the result in Prop 8 stands, it is a great loss.

Last summer, Massachusetts reversed the law that kept out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying. Anyone can now marry here.

*proud to live in the gay-friendliest state, but wishes there was more competition*