Radical Change

It's still dry out here. Sure, we've occasionally had storms drop some rain on us. However, we're still operating on a serious precipitation deficit.

And it's not over yet. Far from it, Nevada will likely endure another year of drought. This drought has caused a world of trouble for Nevada and the entire West. And it now looks like we must prepare for another year of Lake Mead & Lake Tahoe shrinking while wildfires burn across the state.

It's become increasingly undeniable that climate change is taking its toll on Nevada along with the rest of the world. So why aren't more people making noise?

But wait, there actually were about 400,000 people making noise in New York City on Sunday. And that was just one of the People's Climate March events happening in over 150 nations this week. And yet, you may not have even heard about it until now.



So why did the Sunday talk shows only barely mention this? After all, it was happening in their own back yard.

Even though many media pundits continue to ignore the perils of climate change, a number of captains of industry are now speaking up and making change happen. This isn't some "fringe movement". This is a very real statement on a very real threat to all of us.



As they always do, the usual G-O-TEA suspects were trashing last weekend's march while decrying "the radical left" for demanding "radical change". But you know what? If we want to survive, we must embrace radical change and do so soon. Hell, most American voters are now realizing this. So why shouldn't we start implementing the radical changes we need to save ourselves and our children's future on this planet?



This week, the United Nations is holding another climate summit. This time, it's in New York. And this is why we're seeing so much direct action in New York this week.



It's amazing that roughly 400,000 people took to the streets of Manhattan on Sunday demanding climate action. And it's amazing to think a number of those people are staying for further actions. However, this is not enough. They can't be the only ones to act.

Ultimately, we must all act. And yes, we must all begin making radical changes soon. We can't afford to delay any longer. If we need any further reason to act, all we must do is open the door.

"Second Amendment Remedies"... Revisited

I know it may seem like such a long time ago, but it's important to remember what happened here in Nevada during the 2010 Election. During that year's US Senate campaign, Sharron Angle actually said this.



And just seven months later, an armed madman attempted to assassinate then Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona). Jared Loughner succeeded in shooting her and eighteen other people, and six of them were killed. And Loughner used a Glock pistol with a high-capacity magazine.

Fast forward to December 2012. In the wake of the horrific Newtown elementary school massacre in Connecticut, we saw renewed demand for gun safety reform. And despite some DC pundits' spin to the contrary, the solid majority of Americans are still demanding action on gun violence today.

And now, all of a sudden, the violent rhetoric and actions that plagued the country in 2010 and boiled over horrifically in Arizona in January 2011 have returned in a major way. Some even wonder if the violent rhetoric and actions really waned for very long in 2011. Take into consideration this...

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And this...

A sheriff known for cracking down on the drug trade in southern West Virginia’s coalfields was fatally shot Wednesday in the spot where he usually parked his car for lunch, a state official said, and a suspect was in custody.

State Police told Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin that Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum died of his wounds, said his chief of staff Rob Alsop. The suspect, who was also shot, was taken to a hospital in Logan, Alsop said.

The courthouse was evacuated, streets into the city were blocked off and officers held white sheets around the crime scene, Crum’s body further shielded by two vehicles.

The shooting occurred within a block of the county courthouse, said Office of Emergency Services head dispatcher Willis Spence. Officials planned a news conference for 6 p.m. in the county in the southwest corner of West Virginia, on the border with Kentucky.

And this.

“Yesterday, several death threats were phoned into my New York office in response to news reports about a bill I authored requiring gun owners to have insurance,” the congresswoman said in a statement Wednesday morning. “The calls were fielded by young interns, who were understandably shaken by this experience.” [...]

“They said they were going to kill me,” she told the [New York Daily News]. [...]

In her statement, Maloney said she’s proud of her work to stem gun violence and strongly supports President Obama’s gun control initiatives. “100,000 Americans are injured by guns every year,” she said. “Carrying insurance is the responsible thing to do.”

“Given all the acts of gun violence we have seen in the past two years, the shootings in Aurora and Newtown, the attack on my friend and colleague Gabby Gifford (sic), I take the threat of more gun violence very seriously,” the congresswoman continued. “But it is not something that I will allow to stop me from doing my work.”

Yes, this actually happened this week. Here we go again.

And again, Sharron Angle's words return to haunt us. We're now seeing "Second Amendment Remedies" materialize. Once again, Members of Congress are receiving death threats. And law enforcement leaders are being shot dead. And even schools are again vulnerable.

I'm sure Senator Dean Heller (R-NRA) is trying to blame Hollywood for all of this. Yet despite his & the gun lobby's best attempts to spin away all this violence, the fact remains that it's here. So what will we do about it?

Sure, taking hunting rifles away from law abiding citizens won't help. And no one's talking about doing that. The problem, rather, is with extremely violent rhetoric paired up with easy access to dangerous military grade weapons. And especially when those military grade weapons fall into the wrong hands at the wrong time, (even more of) these horrific tragedies happen. And the violent rhetoric that's seeped into our politics in recent years has made this problem even worse.

So when will we do something?

Yet Another Horrifying Reminder

So it happened again. Yes, sadly, it happened again.

As firefighters made their way to battle the blaze, the police said, a man made his way to a barbershop at the heart of the village and then a carwash, about one mile away, in the neighboring village of Herkimer, killing four people and wounding two others before fleeing and setting off a manhunt that still was unresolved by late afternoon. [...]

"We saw a guy walking around the shop," one woman who was at the gas station told WKTV. She said she saw two people who were shot on the ground.

"Then he took off in a Jeep Wrangler," she said of the gunman, adding, "There were empty rifle shells on the ground."

Greg Beasley, 70, who was near the carwash when the shooting took place, said he heard at least five gunshots around 10 a.m.

"I saw people running out from the one-store building in panic," Mr. Beasley said when reached by phone.

Another day, another mass shooting. This is just so wrong on so many levels.

Just yesterday, a group of citizens from Connecticut rode their bicycles from Newtown to Washington to ask Congress to act on gun violence prevention. One of the riders, Monte Frank, explained to Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC last night why he took part in this.

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Remember, the Newtown massacre happened last December. And since then, we've seen even more gun violence across America. Yes, we've even seen it happen here in Nevada. Just last month, four people died in a shooting on the Las Vegas Strip.

Yet despite the growing demand for action and the overwhelming public support for expanded background checks, Congress still can't get its act together on even the most basic plank of gun safety reform. Even with the overwhelming supermajority of gun retailers demanding action to curb illegal gun trafficking, Congress still can't get its act together on that, either. See a pattern here? Isn't it looking awfully disturbing?

How many more of these massacres must occur before Congress takes action? How many more shootings must happen in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Southern California, and elsewhere before Congress takes action on gun violence? How many more innocent people must die?

New York, New York

Lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed, and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born.

The same-sex marriage bill was approved on a 33-to-29 vote, as 4 Republican state senators joined 29 Democrats in voting for the bill. The Senate galleries were so packed with supporters and opponents that the fire marshals closed them off. And along the Great Western Staircase, outside the Senate chamber, about 100 demonstrators chanted and waved placards throughout the night — separated by a generation, a phalanx of state troopers and 10 feet of red marble.

“Support traditional marriage,” read signs held by opponents. “Love is love, Vote Yes,” declared those in the hands of the far more youthful group of people who supported it.

Senate approval was the final hurdle for the same-sex marriage legislation, which is strongly supported by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and was approved last week by the Assembly. Mr. Cuomo is expected to sign the measure soon, and the law will go into effect 30 days later, meaning that same-sex couples could begin marrying in New York by midsummer.

At least some place gets it. And America moves yet another step closer toward full equality for all. It's just too bad Nevada will take a little longer to get there.

UPDATE: Nevada Stonewall just released a quick statement.

[...T]hanks to the persistence of both Governor Cuomo and the many equality activists working tirelessly to make this day happen, New York is making history. New York will the the sixth US state to enact civil marriage equality (following Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire), the third state to do so through the legislative process, and the most populous state ever to do so.

We at NSDC salute our friends, family, and fellow allies in New York for their much deserved victory, and we are committed to working for progress on marriage equality and the end to all unjust discrimination here in Nevada and nationwide.

Damn You, Harry Reid...

(Also at Daily Kos)

For ruining my "mini staycation" with family. Just as I was enjoying a lovely day with the loved ones on the always fabulously sinful Las Vegas Strip, you had to open your mouth and say this crap about not wanting an Islamic cultural center in Lower Manhattan. Seriously, Mr. Leader, WHAT. THE. FUCK??!!

First off, this is happening in New York City. Last I checked, this is nowhere near our fine State of Nevada. What right do we have telling New Yorkers what to do in their city?

Secondly, speaking of rights, we're intruding on other people's constitutional rights and religious freedom by intimidating them out of doing something that's perfectly legal and totally harmless. Come on, how are we in Las Vegas affected by an Islamic cultural center in Manhattan? However, our bone-headed insensitivity and irrational fear has caused many Muslim New Yorkers a whole lot of pain and heartburn that they really did not deserve.

Look, Harry, I'm not abandoning you. The fact of the matter is that I can't. Sharron Angle scares the living daylights out of me. She doesn't believe I and other queer folk should be able to exist as human beings. She wants our fine state to become a massive radioactive garbage disposal. She doesn't believe we Nevadans deserve jobs if they happen to be in renewable energy or hospitality or anything else that doesn't fit in her radical right ideology. Scary Sharry is just plain batshit crazy, so I really have no choice but to support you and all the good you're doing for Nevada and America.

So I forgive you... But I can't forget, not just yet. What you did today was really beneath you. I know you're better than this. I know deep down you're a good person, and you don't want to slander Muslim Americans. This was just a calculated political move, but nonetheless a calculated political move that is morally wrong and Constitutionally inadvisable.

Don't do this again... And please get back to serving ALL the people of this great State of Nevada.

Now if you could please excuse me, I'd like to get back to my quality family time tonight.

New York, New York?

It's really up to them after all.

New York's Legislature is meeting in extraordinary session to confront a $3.2 billion deficit and possibly hold a landmark vote to provide final legislative approval of same-sex marriage.

However, there were no agreements Monday that were certain to be part of Tuesday's session. [...]

The Senate may also take up a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Even if the issue comes to a vote, it remains unclear whether 32 senators would give it the support needed.

Adam Bink explains further at Open Left:

Here's the deal. Gov. Paterson has called another special session and asked that marriage equality be put on the agenda. The session starts today. The Assembly has previously passed such legislation and Gov. Paterson will sign the bill. New York does not allow for ballot referenda to enact or overturn laws, so there is very little chance this will be repealed like in Maine and California.

The problem is, the State Senators themselves decide what is on the agenda, not Paterson, and what I'm hearing from a number of sources is that pressure needs to be put on the conference leader, Sen. John Sampson, from State Senators. There are a lot of "Yes" vote Democrats who do not necessarily want to see a vote. Tom Duane, the openly gay Senate sponsor, has said for months that he has the votes, and the problem is getting the leadership to take it up. The reason this needs to happen is if it gets put off until 2010, an election year for State Senators, it is even more likely to not come up for a vote. And in 2011, we might have an anti-equality Republican governor on our hands. So this needs to happen now.

So, if you live in New York State and wouldn't mind helping me and lots of other couples get married, I would sure appreciate it. Empire State Pride Agenda has a neat tool that connects you with your State Senator (you literally don't even have to dial). Fill it out here. Ask that he or she (a) ask Sen. Sampson for a vote on marriage equality (b) to vote in favor.

So if you know folks in The Empire State (and I know you do, since Las Vegas is the 7th NYC borough; everything in Florida south of the Palm Beach County line is the 6th), please ask them to help Empire State Pride Agenda in whipping the 32 State Senate votes necessary to win civil marriagge equality! They won't even have to make the call themselves, as ESPA has everything covered.

I'm sure you're still as bummed out as I am over Maine "trick rolling" us, but here's our chance to get some sweet revenge. The anti-equality wingnuts have tried hard all year to stall and stall and stall away the marriage bill in New York, even though it's very likely we may actually have the votes for passage. But now that Governor Paterson is putting his foot down and demanding a Senate vote, it's now or never to get it done and score the biggest victory yet for LGBT equality.

So please tell your New Yorker friends & family to call their Senators and get the job done! It's up to you, New York, New York!