Howard Fineman on the Chris Matthews Show, discussing the Democrats in 2008:
Mr. FINEMAN: If they can’t win this one, the Democrats deserve to go the way of the Whigs, which is a political party that disappeared. Now why did it disappear? It disappeared because it couldn’t deal with the biggest issue of the time, which was slavery.
MATTHEWS: Right.
Mr. FINEMAN: So I’m thinking, what’s the issue this time that could render the Democrats useless to history? And the answer is–if there is one, the answer is terrorism. And who is dehumanizing whom. Is it the terrorists who are dehumanizing us or we who are refusing to view them as real people? And unless the Democrats can figure out an answer on foreign policy, then there is a chance they could blow it, despite all of what you said.
Yeah. Because clearly, the Republican foreign policy is working well for us, being mired in a quagmire of a war and alienating every single ally we’ve every had. Sorry, Mr. Fineman – the GOP imaginary boogie man of “terrorism” isn’t going to kill off the Democratic Party. Keep trying, though, it’s cute to watch the Republicans spin out.
It does suck that the GOP has fucked up the world and will then be handing it back to the Democrats in ’08 to pick up the pieces, but they couldn’t do worse the the Republicans.
I found this event from the OutWord Bound Bookstore email newsletter interesting:
Mass Avenue Movies Under the Stars
Mass Ave Video Store in partnership with the Indianapolis International Film Festival presents their 2007 Outdoor Summer Film Series: Movies Under the Stars extending through September 27, 2007.
All movies are free and open to the public! So bring your favorites: picnic food, lawn chair, libations, and friends to enjoy a night of movies under the stars.
Mass. Ave. Video Store Outdoor Movie Garden
Mass. Ave. Video Store
922 Massachusetts Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46202
[ Google Map ]
phone: 317-951-7195
August features “International Animation”
Aug. 2nd – – Grave of the Fireflies (Japan)
Aug. 9th – – Spirited Away (Japan, 2002 Academy award winner)
Aug. 16th – – The Tripletts of Belleville (France, 2003 Academy awrd winner)
Aug. 23rd – – Award-winning Animated Shorts – only the BEST!
Aug. 30th – – The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Germany, 1926, the VERY FIRST animated feature in History!)
Similar to movies on the terrace at the IMA. Sounds like fun, and it’s downtown, so it’s a bit closer to our house. Also, the IMA is popular enough that it can get really crowded. This might be a bit more roomy for those of us who have Demophobia.
Brett Conrad spent more than half his life as Patrick Atkins’ partner. For 25 years, the men shared bank accounts, apartments and eventually a home in Fishers.
But when Atkins, 47, fell seriously ill in 2005, Conrad faced what many gay Hoosiers consider a travesty: no law guaranteeing them the same rights as married couples to participate in care decisions for their ill partners.
Conrad, 47, spent much of the past two years trying to win guardianship of Atkins from Atkins’ parents, Thomas and Jeanne of Carmel. Jeanne Atkins is quoted in court documents as saying she believes homosexuality is a sin and that she disapproves of the men’s relationship. The parents have barred Conrad from visiting their now-disabled son in their home where he lives.
In June, Conrad won visitation rights from the Indiana Court of Appeals, but the court upheld an earlier Hamilton County ruling that left control of Atkins’ care to his parents.Gay-rights activists say the men’s story illustrates the discrimination embedded in Indiana law and underscores why gay marriage should be allowed.
On the other side, opponents of same-sex marriage say the case could have been prevented if Conrad and Atkins had used existing laws that can give unmarried couples — straight and gay — the legal right to act on each other’s behalf.
Read the whole article (linked above) for more information, including some great references about what legal documents you should have in place to protect yourself from this sort of madness.
And obviously – I’m never eating Atkins Cheesecake again, and of course, I’m contacting the Atkins family to tell them why that’s the case.