I hate that Pennsylvania has elected Supreme Court justices, and hate even more that the candidates run as Democrats and Republicans.
But I have no illusions. This court is likely going to be ruling on gun control, voter ID laws and public education funding sometime in the near future.
I held my nose and voted a straight Democratic ticket, and I'm glad they won.
Edit: Also, I literally gasped when I heard that Tea Party guy won the gubernatorial race in Kentucky. That state has one of the most successful Obamacare exchanges in the country, and, as far as I know, it is very popular there, and the guy who just became governor has pledged to basically dismantle it. Depressing result in Houston, too.
Someone mentioned that Wasserman-Schultz is a terrible DNC chair earlier in the thread and after last night I'm inclined to agree.
The DNC needs to take a good long look at the 50 state strategy Howard Dean set up when the dems took the senate in 06. They've just given up on so many midterm and off-year elections and it's disgusting. I mean look at what happened with the Mississippi gov race for an example of how the party just isn't even trying at all.
boy it sure is weird that everything went pear shaped after 2008. Oh wait what happened between 2008 and 2010? Citizens United vs FEC?
I bet that has nothing to do with it.
Oh I know Citizen's United is bullshit, but that doesn't excuse the complete lack of effort by the DNC.
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MayabirdPecking at the keyboardRegistered Userregular
The library levy failed so they won't be able to cover their budget. Fuck this city.
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Shortytouching the meatIntergalactic Cool CourtRegistered Userregular
seattle passed a public election funding initiative, a public transportation levy, and a police oversight initiative
and we maaaaaay get another pro-tenant council member, depending on how things shake out in west seattle
overall not bad, but it would have been nice to get rid of fucking Tim Burgess
And even more unfortunately (for me, personally) I live right near Rochester. Not in the city itself, I'm in a somewhat more rural locale, but it's still pretty close.
I live in Rochester proper, and I never saw any proper ads or anything honestly, I saw some yard signs including one on east ave that's like... enormous and made out of two by fours and a tarp for some reason
they keep getting passed because it's common sense legislation that makes it difficult for the state to do something that nobody likes
I mean, I like it when state taxes get raised. More than the alternative, at least.
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UnbrokenEvaHIGH ON THE WIREBUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered Userregular
Canadian politics update: Our new Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers were sworn in today.
"I understand that one of the priorities for you was to have a cabinet that was gender-balanced. Why was that so important to you?"
"Because it's 2015."
UnbrokenEvaHIGH ON THE WIREBUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered Userregular
oh and none of our 3(!) Ministers with science and environment related portfolios (Environment and Climate Change/Innovation, Science and Economic Development/Science) are creationists or climate-change deniers. That's cool too.
Oh and our new Minister of Justice/Attorney General is an aboriginal woman. To quote a comment I saw on that,
As should be obvious if you look at Canadian history, our government has had a terrible record of treating aboriginal people unjustly. This appointment is poetic justice (as well as actual justice, we hope).
It is really weird feeling this optimistic about my country you guys.
Here in Philly we passed a public question making the Office of LGBT Affairs (created in 2008 by Gov. Michael Nutter) a permanent part of the city charter, so no future mayor can rescind it. Even though that's pretty unlikely in the short-term, since the new governor we just elected yesterday was the guy who, as a city council member, introduced and help pass an LGBT rights bill (which, among many other things, requires all new city construction to provide gender-neutral bathrooms).
Here in Philly we passed a public question making the Office of LGBT Affairs (created in 2008 by Gov. Michael Nutter) a permanent part of the city charter, so no future mayor can rescind it. Even though that's pretty unlikely in the short-term, since the new governor we just elected yesterday was the guy who, as a city council member, introduced and help pass an LGBT rights bill (which, among many other things, requires all new city construction to provide gender-neutral bathrooms).
The margin was far too close compared to the mayoral election and shows how people still aren't as accepting as they should be, but hey, a win is a win.
Also mayor nutter
Knight_ on
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Shortytouching the meatIntergalactic Cool CourtRegistered Userregular
oh and none of our 3(!) Ministers with science and environment related portfolios (Environment and Climate Change/Innovation, Science and Economic Development/Science) are creationists or climate-change deniers. That's cool too.
Oh and our new Minister of Justice/Attorney General is an aboriginal woman. To quote a comment I saw on that,
As should be obvious if you look at Canadian history, our government has had a terrible record of treating aboriginal people unjustly. This appointment is poetic justice (as well as actual justice, we hope).
It is really weird feeling this optimistic about my country you guys.
it's pretty impressive
ain't no way we'd be able to get a Sikh anywhere near that level of office in the US
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UnbrokenEvaHIGH ON THE WIREBUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered Userregular
oh and none of our 3(!) Ministers with science and environment related portfolios (Environment and Climate Change/Innovation, Science and Economic Development/Science) are creationists or climate-change deniers. That's cool too.
Oh and our new Minister of Justice/Attorney General is an aboriginal woman. To quote a comment I saw on that,
As should be obvious if you look at Canadian history, our government has had a terrible record of treating aboriginal people unjustly. This appointment is poetic justice (as well as actual justice, we hope).
It is really weird feeling this optimistic about my country you guys.
it's pretty impressive
ain't no way we'd be able to get a Sikh anywhere near that level of office in the US
There were actually 3 Sikhs appointed to the cabinet today - one other practising, the other non-religious, who actually spent 2 years as a political prisoner in India when he went back to visit and advocate for human rights/against fundamentalism and was accused of (but never charged with) terrorism.
also our new Minister of Democratic Institutions came to Canada as a refugee from Afghanistan as a child which is also cool as heck
UnbrokenEva on
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UnbrokenEvaHIGH ON THE WIREBUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered Userregular
edited November 2015
Other cool details from the start of our new government today:
Respect and recognition of Canada's First Nations people was right up front. A 12-year old drummer from the Potawatami/Cree nation led Trudeau and the ministers into the ballroom for the swearing-in, the ceremony started by recognizing that it was taking place on land traditionally belonging to the Algonquin peoples, a pair of 11-year old Inuit throat-singers performed between Trudeau's swearing-in and the cabinet's, and a Métis Prarie fire dance to end the ceremony.
our Minister for Sport and Persons with Disabilities is herself a former Paralympic athlete and human rights lawyer
the Minister of Health is actually a doctor, and one that has worked in Niger, with Doctors Without Borders, and helped create Ethiopia's first family medicine training program
did I mention we actually have a Minister of the Environment and Climate Change? The previous government lumped the entire science portfolio in with the Minister of Industry
the Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship was renamed to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship which kinda indicates a change in policy as well
our Minister of Transport is an astronaut
I watched the ceremony as it was streamed live today and was smiling the whole dang time
So what you're telling me is I should move to Canada?
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UnbrokenEvaHIGH ON THE WIREBUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered Userregular
I mean, he's just been sworn in and named his cabinet so far, the next 4 years will show what he actually does
but the nice thing about being a parliamentary democracy is that him winning with a majority government means he has a really solid mandate to deliver on all of his promises over the next 4 years, and very few things to stop him. It's not like the US where you can get a Democrat president and a Republican-controlled Congress or Senate that then proceeds to block as much as they possibly can - we have a Liberal Prime Minister that only needs to convince his own party to vote for his bills and they will pass the House of Commons, and our Senate is a weird entity that is supposed to be non-political (due to lifetime appointments) and rarely blocks bills that pass the house.
tl;dr unless Trudeau was straight-up lying about what he wants to do as Prime Minister, we should see a lot of positive changes up here over the next four years.
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Oh I know Citizen's United is bullshit, but that doesn't excuse the complete lack of effort by the DNC.
and we maaaaaay get another pro-tenant council member, depending on how things shake out in west seattle
overall not bad, but it would have been nice to get rid of fucking Tim Burgess
I live in Rochester proper, and I never saw any proper ads or anything honestly, I saw some yard signs including one on east ave that's like... enormous and made out of two by fours and a tarp for some reason
"I understand that one of the priorities for you was to have a cabinet that was gender-balanced. Why was that so important to you?"
"Because it's 2015."
Oh and our new Minister of Justice/Attorney General is an aboriginal woman. To quote a comment I saw on that,
It is really weird feeling this optimistic about my country you guys.
Here in Philly we passed a public question making the Office of LGBT Affairs (created in 2008 by Gov. Michael Nutter) a permanent part of the city charter, so no future mayor can rescind it. Even though that's pretty unlikely in the short-term, since the new governor we just elected yesterday was the guy who, as a city council member, introduced and help pass an LGBT rights bill (which, among many other things, requires all new city construction to provide gender-neutral bathrooms).
The margin was far too close compared to the mayoral election and shows how people still aren't as accepting as they should be, but hey, a win is a win.
Also mayor nutter
it's pretty impressive
ain't no way we'd be able to get a Sikh anywhere near that level of office in the US
There were actually 3 Sikhs appointed to the cabinet today - one other practising, the other non-religious, who actually spent 2 years as a political prisoner in India when he went back to visit and advocate for human rights/against fundamentalism and was accused of (but never charged with) terrorism.
also our new Minister of Democratic Institutions came to Canada as a refugee from Afghanistan as a child which is also cool as heck
Respect and recognition of Canada's First Nations people was right up front. A 12-year old drummer from the Potawatami/Cree nation led Trudeau and the ministers into the ballroom for the swearing-in, the ceremony started by recognizing that it was taking place on land traditionally belonging to the Algonquin peoples, a pair of 11-year old Inuit throat-singers performed between Trudeau's swearing-in and the cabinet's, and a Métis Prarie fire dance to end the ceremony.
our Minister for Sport and Persons with Disabilities is herself a former Paralympic athlete and human rights lawyer
the Minister of Health is actually a doctor, and one that has worked in Niger, with Doctors Without Borders, and helped create Ethiopia's first family medicine training program
did I mention we actually have a Minister of the Environment and Climate Change? The previous government lumped the entire science portfolio in with the Minister of Industry
the Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship was renamed to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship which kinda indicates a change in policy as well
our Minister of Transport is an astronaut
I watched the ceremony as it was streamed live today and was smiling the whole dang time
edit: also the throat-singers were adorable as heck:
My union endorsed and I voted for Grant; at least with Burgess again we don't lose a position to a far right candidate. Just more of the same.
but the nice thing about being a parliamentary democracy is that him winning with a majority government means he has a really solid mandate to deliver on all of his promises over the next 4 years, and very few things to stop him. It's not like the US where you can get a Democrat president and a Republican-controlled Congress or Senate that then proceeds to block as much as they possibly can - we have a Liberal Prime Minister that only needs to convince his own party to vote for his bills and they will pass the House of Commons, and our Senate is a weird entity that is supposed to be non-political (due to lifetime appointments) and rarely blocks bills that pass the house.
tl;dr unless Trudeau was straight-up lying about what he wants to do as Prime Minister, we should see a lot of positive changes up here over the next four years.